Changes
by SMHHHHFan
Summary: The summer before her first year of college Stephanie worked with her father where she met Paul Levesque. They had a fling during that summer before Paul broke it off. Now she is back after college and they are put into a storyline together that Paul's girlfriend is giving him hell for while Stephanie is just trying to protect her secret but everything is about to change.
1. Chapter 1

Stephanie kicked the vending machine in frustration cursing under breath. The bag of chips had got stuck on the prong inside, it was the second time that week. If she had to be honest with herself though she was taking out her anger on the machine for a completely different reason. Today after months of avoiding _him_ since she had been back her father decided to put them in a storyline. She fought, pleaded, and cried for her father to change his mind but no such luck. He didn't understand why she had such an issue with it and she couldn't tell him the truth. That truth was the summer before college she had been coming to the company helping her dad mostly with office work and hanging around backstage getting to know the wrestlers. One in particular was Paul Levesque. He was young, handsome and charming and she couldn't help but be drawn to him especially when he would joke or wink at her. He had broken up with Joanie a couple of weeks ago so she didn't see any reason not to flirt with him. She found herself spending quite a bit of time with him before things progressed romantically between them. Stephanie found herself that summer sneaking off with him so her family and the other wrestlers wouldn't find out. By the end of the summer before going to college she lost her virginity to him. She really thought things could last between them as they talked about how he would come visit her and talk as much as they could. He did come and visit her for almost two and half months. Stephanie still remembered the exact day that he left and never heard from him again.

Stephanie had been sitting around her apartment doing school work when Paul called her and said he was coming to see her. She put her work aside and dressed herself up to look nice and he took her out to dinner. Then later that night they cuddled and watched a movie and slept together. Nothing seemed different as he had to leave telling her he would call her later but then that call never came. Stephanie waited and waited weeks for him to call and at one point even gave up on waiting and called him, he never picked up. It wasn't until she went to visit her family one weekend when she heard Shane talking about the gossip going on with the wrestlers that she found out Paul had went back to Joanie.

"What is up with the abuse? What did it ever do to you?" She heard the familiar deep voice behind her. Even though she had been back for awhile this was the first time he even had tried talking to her.

"It took my fucking food again" Stephanie replied blowing the strand of hair that had fell in her face. She didn't dare turn around to look at him. She tried to hate him, sometimes she succeeded and other times she failed miserably. But in all honesty she knew she was still bitter about it all.

"When did you start using language like that?" Stephanie heard him chuckle clearly amused at the sight in front of him.

"Since everything started to piss me off" She replied irritated. Stephanie heard him start coming closer to her and she froze. She got a brief scent of his all too familiar cologne, he hadn't changed it seemed. It made her a little weak in the knees remembering being tangled up with his body close to her.

"I think you're going to hurt yourself more than you are going to hurt the machine" She spun around to face him seeing the smirk on his face. God he looked good with his hair tied back wearing his leather jacket and jeans but she couldn't stop the anger she felt at his words. She knew they meant nothing at all, he was only joking about a vending machine but she couldn't stop the words that came out her mouth next.

"Since when do you care about me?" Stephanie spat watching the smirk leave his face and a flash of something in his eyes before looking down and slipping his hands in his pockets.

"Listen I just came to talk about our storyline" Paul said ignoring her comment.

"If you want out of it then you're out of luck. I already begged my dad not to go with it but he's dead set on it" Stephanie replied crossing her arms still staring at him.

"Actually it wasn't about getting out of it" He said looking back up at her taking a breath. "Joanie isn't happy with it"

"You can let her know that I'm not either" She couldn't believe he wanted to talk to her about Joanie. Stephanie shook her head and started to walk off but she felt his hand grab her arm. Her heart started beating frantically at the feel of his touch, she really hated her body for reacting to him.

"This is really hard for me to ask" he paused and sighed "but can you keep what happened between us"

"You don't want Joanie to find out" Stephanie stated but she watched the expression on his face knowing it was more than that.

"Or Vince"

"You don't want to lose your shot at the title"

"Can we just put it behind us?" Paul asked almost begging.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to ever tell anyone ever" Stephanie replied jerking her arm from his grasp and walking away from him.

Paul stood there watching her walk down the hallway trying calm his nerves. He had been nervous this whole time talking to her but it had to be done. Joanie was already bitching to him about the storyline and he really didn't want Vince to find out because he honestly wanted his shot at the title. He really felt shitty about himself now though. Paul sighed before taking off to his dressing room. He thought talking to Stephanie about this wouldn't be that big of a deal since it had been a couple of years. It had just been a fling between them and he just didn't need it coming out but after practically feeling the hatred come from her, he wasn't so sure that was what it had been for her.

Paul made his way to the dressing room, nodding to some of the wrestlers that were making their way down the hall. He finally made it to his dressing room opening the door and letting it shut behind him. Joanie was sitting on the couch just staring at the tv. He could tell she still hadn't calmed down, he sighed knowing they were probably going to fight the rest of the night.

"Where were you?" Joanie asked crossing her arms.

"I was talking to Stephanie about the storyline" Paul replied knowing it was a bad idea to tell her that but it was the truth. Well mostly anyway.

"It's already begun"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked calmly as he could but she was already getting on his last nerve.

"You running off to be with _her_ " Joanie sneered.

"I'm not running off to be with her. I have a fucking job I have to do that involves her and I have no control over it. God Joanie this our career, you know how it is" Paul shouted as she flinched.

"I can't help it" Joanie sighed in defeat. Paul took a deep breath calming himself back down. He looked over at her apologetic.

"What is the big deal with her anyway?" Paul asked going over to Joanie and sitting down beside of her, taking her hands in his.

"I remember the way she used to look at you. She practically drooled over you whenever she would see you and try to hang all over you"

"That was a long time ago Joan. She was just a kid trying to learn more about the business. I don't think she was drooling all over me and she would hang out with me because I was just trying to help her out" Paul felt bad for lying to Joanie but this would be ten times worse if she knew the truth. They weren't together at that time anyway and he didn't feel like he needed to tell her about what he had done. She hadn't told him anything she had done in those months of them not being together.

"It doesn't change the way I feel about her Paul. I just don't like her"

"Hate her all you want just try not to take it out on me. I'm just doing my job, you have nothing to be jealous about" Paul shrugged dropping her hands and leaning over to her grasping her chin gently with his fingers. He leaned over giving her a kiss on the lips.

"I can't promise that I won't be jealous but I'll try to reign in my anger and not take it out on you" Joanie replied staring into his eyes.

"That's all I ask" Paul smiled "now let me take you out to a nice dinner"

"Okay. Lets go home first so I can change" Joanie said standing up from the couch grabbing her purse. Paul stood up and followed her out the door into the hallway. As they made their way down the hallway Paul noticed Stephanie exit her dressing room and head their way. He watched her as their eyes connected and her expression turned sour. This was going to be hard. Not only was he going to have to deal with Joanie being pissed about the storyline, he was going to have to deal with Stephanie being pissed off at him and the storyline too. No matter which way he went he was dealing with two pissed off women.

Stephanie couldn't help but roll her eyes after they passed her. It was bad enough he left her to go back to Joanie and now she was going have to deal with seeing them all over each other since she would have to spend more time with Paul. The thought made her sick to her stomach. Sure she had to see them now but honestly she stayed away from them as much as possible and now that was all going to change. Stephanie made her way to her father's office wanting to talk to him before she left for home. She stopped when she made it to his door and knocked.

"Come in" Stephanie heard and opened the door. She was surprised when she seen Shane and not her father.

"Where is dad?" Stephanie asked as Shane looked up at her.

"He already left. I was just going over some stuff"

"Oh well I guess I'll head on home then" Stephanie replied turning to leave.

"Hold on" Shane said as she turned back around.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on with you and Paul?" Shane asked eyeing her curiously. She felt her heart to race, scared that maybe he knew.

"Nothing" Stephanie answered with a shrug.

"Why are you so hell bent on not doing this storyline with him?"

"I just...I heard that he was a little bit of a dick and could be immature. I just don't want to work with someone who doesn't take this serious" Stephanie lied hoping Shane couldn't see through it.

"I guess he used to be but that was a long time ago Steph. He's grown up and he take this business quite seriously so I don't think you have anything to worry about" Shane said as Stephanie nodded not knowing what else to say.

"I'm going to head on home"

"I'll see you tomorrow"

"Bye Shane" Stephanie said turning back around and heading down the hallway to the parking lot.

Once she reached her car she pulled out her keys unlocking the car door and getting in. Stephanie laid her head up against the back of the seat and sighed. Today had been a long day, memories of her and Paul coming to her. Feelings that accompanied the memories were the worst to experience again. She put the keys in the ignition and started the car and headed to her parent's house. Even though there was the bad memories Stephanie tried to focus on the one really great memory she had left involving Paul.

 _Flashback:_

" _Do you need my help?" Kelsie Stephanie's best friend asked her before getting out of the car._

" _No I think I can walk" Stephanie answered with a weak smile as she opened the passenger side door and stepped out onto the pavement. Her legs did feel weak but she wasn't helpless. Stephanie had spent the week throwing up, tired and she was weak from not being able to keep anything down. She was positive she had the flu but Kelsie had insisted she go to the doctor. So here she was._

" _Hopefully we can get you well because I'm starting to worry" Kelsie said as they made their way into the building._

" _I'm sure it's just the flu and I should be getting over it" Stephanie replied going to the receptionist and giving them her name._

" _I just want to be sure. I mean what if its something that could be life threatening?" Kelsie asked and Stephanie couldn't help but roll her eyes as they sat down in the waiting area. Kelsie always jumped to conclusions and to the very worst scenario._

" _I'm sure it's nothing like that Kels"_

" _I swear I worry more about your health than you do" Kelsie replied shaking her head and picking up a magazine on the table beside of them. Stephanie put her hand on her forehead feeling lightheaded and nauseous to her stomach. She really hoped they could get her back there fast so she could just go home and sleep it off._

 _They sat waiting for what seemed like forever to Stephanie before they called her back._

" _I'll be right here waiting" Kelsie said as Stephanie got up and made her way to the back with the nurse._

 _The nurse took her to one of the rooms where the nurse took her blood pressure and temperature. Stephanie explained her symptoms to the nurse before she left telling Stephanie the doctor would be in soon to see her. It didn't seem to take long as Stephanie seen the door open and a blonde woman walk into the room._

" _Ms. McMahon?" She asked looking at a chart in her hands._

" _Yes" Stephanie replied._

" _I'm Dr. Reese how are you feeling today?" Dr. Reese asked closing the door and came over to her._

" _Terrible"_

" _I'm sorry. What symptoms have you been having?" Dr. Reese asked and Stephanie explained her symptoms to her and Dr. Reese checked her chest and all of that._

" _I don't hear any kind of congestion. I don't think it's the flu especially since you are not running a fever either. When was your last period Ms. McMahon?" Dr. Reese asked as Stephanie tried to remember when it was. She had been so stressed lately about school work and Paul that she hadn't been keeping up like she should._

" _I think it might have been almost the end of September" Stephanie replied feeling nervous._

" _Is there a chance you could be pregnant?"_

" _I-I was sexually active then but we used protection"_

" _Are you on birth control or did you use condoms or both?"_

" _We used a condom" Stephanie replied feeling herself blush. She hated talking to a complete stranger about this, it was uncomfortable._

" _The condom could have broke. I suggest we do a pregnancy test just to rule it out" Dr. Reese said as Stephanie nodded her head._

 _After Stephanie gave her urine sample she sat and waited for the Doctor to come back in. Stephanie could feel her pulse racing afraid that maybe the condom had broke and she could be pregnant. She didn't know what to do if she was. Paul had moved on and wouldn't pick up his phone and she was in her first year of college. How could she possibly take care of a baby and do all of this? Her thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor came back in. Dr. Reese shut the door and sat down in her chair. Stephanie could feel her impatience grow._

" _Congratulations you're pregnant" Dr. Reese said looking up at her. Stephanie felt the blood drain from her face, she felt lightheaded and like she was going to throw up._

" _I'm pregnant" Stephanie whispered in a scared voice._

Stephanie pulled into her parent's driveway smiling at the memory. Yeah it had been terrifying at the time but now it was the only thing that made her smile. She got of the car and walked up to the door and was about to knock when she seen it start to open.

"Hey" Linda said smiling as Stephanie smiled back at her.

"Where is he?" Stephanie asked while Linda stepped back to let her inside.

"He's asleep on the couch" Linda said in almost a whisper.

Stephanie headed to living room going over to the couch. There her little blonde haired boy laid fast asleep bundled up in a blanket holding it tight along with his brown teddy bear. The sight warmed her heart and in that moment her anger for Paul melted away at least in that moment, for he gave her the best thing that could of have happened to her.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Paul rolled over stretching his arm to find the other side of the bed empty. He groggily opened his eyes to the sunlight that flooded into the bedroom. Paul rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes wondering where Joanie was but his question was answered when she came in the bedroom.

"Good morning" Paul said looking at her.

"Good morning Paul" Joanie replied and Paul could tell something was wrong from the tone of her voice.

"Where have you been?" Paul asked getting up out of the bed and looking at her outfit.

"I went to the gym this morning. I couldn't sleep"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just trying to work out my frustrations from yesterday" Joanie replied rummaging through their closet

"You should of woke me up and I would of went with you"

"I'm going to take a shower" Joanie replied ignoring him and headed out of the bedroom. Paul sat down on the edge of the bed and groaned. He really hoped she would come to terms with this soon and things would go back to normal. After a moment Paul heard his cellphone start ringing and got up and grabbed it from the nightstand checking the caller ID.

"Hey Shawn" Paul answered not being able to hide his bad mood.

"Whoa, wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Shawn joked.

"I didn't, someone else did and well now I'm in the bad mood"

"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?" Shawn asked as Paul made his way into the living room and sat down on the couch and flipped the tv on.

"She is pissed off at my new storyline"

"It can't be that bad"

"Oh it is for her"

"What is your take on it?"

"Honestly I am pretty excited for it I think it's a good idea. The only problem is I think Stephanie hates me"

"Stephanie? As in Stephanie McMahon?" Shawn asked confused.

"Yeah my new storyline is with her"

"Now I see why she is pissed. Damn I feel sorry for you. New girlfriend versus old girlfriend-"

"Stephanie wasn't my girlfriend" Paul said as quiet as he could. He muted the tv and listened closely to see if he could hear the shower going, he definitely didn't want Joanie hearing that. After a second he could hear the faint sound of water running and let out a breath and relaxed.

"Are you serious? You two were all over each other that summer and I'm really surprised nobody caught you two"

"It was just a fling and you are the only one besides me and Stephanie that even know about it so don't say anything to anyone. She already agreed she wouldn't"

"I never said anything before so you know I wouldn't now. What do you mean she agreed she wouldn't say anything? Did you ask her not to?" Shawn asked surprised.

"Yeah" Paul replied not understanding the surprised tone in his voice.

"Please don't tell me that is the first thing you asked her"

"No not the first thing"

"I think I know why she is probably pissed of at you" Shawn laughed and Paul rolled his eyes "you really have a way with women Levesque"

"I don't see the big deal" Paul said with a sigh.

"Really? That girl was head over heels for you and you didn't even break up with her-"

"Because it was a fling. Yeah I should of told her I was moving on but I couldn't face her. I thought maybe if she hated me it would make it easier for her to move on with her life"

"That is a horrible excuse"

"You're supposed to be my best friend, who's side are you on here?" Paul asked frustrated but couldn't help but end up laughing.

"I'm always on your side but I'm trying to help you understand why she might possibly hate you" Shawn replied which made Paul start wondering if he might be right. He hadn't given much thought about his actions back then. Paul sat there for a minute in silence before he realized he didn't hear the water running anymore.

"I've got to go. I think Joanie is done with her shower and I don't want her over hearing this" Paul said quietly looking over to the bathroom door.

"Okay well call me if anything new happens. Your drama is very entertaining" Shawn laughed.

"I'm glad you find amusement in my torture" Paul replied before ending the call.

"Who was that?" Joanie asked as he put his phone away.

"It was Shawn" Paul replied unmuting the tv and went back to flipping through channels.

Joanie didn't respond instead he heard her going to the kitchen. At this point he knew she was icing him out and he just didn't understand. Dinner last night had seemed to go good between them, they had joked and laughed. It had seemed that Joanie had finally relaxed and was doing better but apparently he was wrong.

* * *

Stephanie felt exhausted to say the least. She hadn't slept very good last night and it was partly because of the dreams she had. They were all of her memories of her and Paul, she knew it was from yesterday's events that was causing them but hopefully today would be better. She had got up and checked on Aiden that morning to find him still sleeping away comfortably and decided to get a quick shower and now she was in the middle of cooking breakfast. It was interrupted though by a knock on the door, she turned off the burner on the stove before going to answer the door. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Shane holding a big bag of food.

"Good morning" Shane greeted stepping inside the house "I bought breakfast"

"I was in the middle of making breakfast"

"Well what have you made so far?" Shane asked sitting the bag on the kitchen table.

"Just a few pancakes"

"Just throw them in with this stuff" Shane replied sitting down and reaching into the bag.

Stephanie went back into the kitchen and grabbed the plate of pancakes and brought them to the table.

"Where is Aiden?" Shane asked taking a bite of his food.

"He's still-"

"Mommy" Stephanie heard Aiden and she looked past Shane to see Aiden standing in the hallway clutching his blanket.

"Hey buddy" Shane said getting up from the table and heading over to pick him up. Aiden smiled and rubbed his eyes as Shane came back to the table with him "I brought you your favorite food"

"Ice cream?" Aiden asked excitement in his voice and Shane laughed.

"No I brought you gravy and biscuits. That is your favorite food in the morning right?"

"I guess" Aiden replied less excited.

"I think mom has been giving him too much desserts. He has been asking for ice cream after dinner lately" Stephanie said shaking her head.

"She does spoil him but I think everyone does" Shane replied with a smile. Stephanie looked at Aiden who was sitting in Shane's lap eating his food and smiled at him. "So are you excited for tonight?"

"Why?" Stephanie asked with a confused expression.

"Well it is your bachelorette party" Shane laughed.

"Fake bachelorette party but no not really. I'd rather stay home with Aiden" and stay away from Paul but she say that.

"It will be fun Steph"

"Sure" Stephanie replied unconvinced.

"Hey Aiden do you want to spend the night with me?" Shane asked him and Aiden looked up and nodded at him.

"Try not to give him too much desserts"

"We will get you a whole thing of ice cream" Shane whispered to him and Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Shane.

They spent the rest of their morning finishing breakfast and talking. Stephanie was feeling nervous about later that night because she would be alone with Paul. Plus she would be away from Aiden which always made her nervous even though she knew he was in great hands.

"Mommy look what I made for you" Aiden said handing her a piece of paper. After breakfast Aiden had wanted to color and he was handing her one of his drawings.

"Oh what a great job" Stephanie replied smiling at him "I'm going to take it with me tonight"

"Where is mine?" Shane asked teasing him.

"I'll make you one too" Aiden replied sitting down and taking a new piece of paper to draw on.

"You will really need to watch him tonight Shane. Especially if you give him crayons because if you don't you will have drawings all over your wall"

"Steph relax. I know what to do and Marissa will be there. Why are you so stressed out?"

"It's just this new storyline. I liked my storyline with Andrew"

"No offense Steph but it was boring"

"It wasn't for me besides he's a nice guy and I'm comfortable with him"

"Paul is a nice guy too and you will be comfortable with him once you work with him enough" Shane said trying to make her feel better. The only problem was nothing he said could help her feel at ease. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to be around him without being reminded of what happened and hating him all over again. Honestly she had wishing that her dad would call her and tell her they decided to scrap the idea but her phone had been silent so far.

"Hey if you end up hating him or he turns out to be a dick then you tell me and I'll try my best to kick his ass" Shane said which made her laugh at the thought of Shane trying to fight Paul.

"Watch your mouth. I don't want Aiden picking that up" Stephanie replied still laughing.

"Sorry Aiden" Shane said looking over at him but Aiden wasn't paying attention to them as he scribbled away on his paper.

* * *

Later that night Paul pulled out hearing the sound of the cans rattle as he drove down the highway. Stephanie straightened herself up from pretending to unconscious and pulling back some strands of her hair that had fell in her face.

"Where to Mrs. Helmsley?" Paul joked.

"Back to the hotel"

"Can't wait to get your hands on me huh?" He joked and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah can't wait" Stephanie said sarcastically and he glanced over at her for a moment.

"Lighten up McMahon"

"I will once I'm out of this car with you"

"Okay then" Paul replied as he put on his turn signal.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked feeling panicked.

"Just relax. You act as if I'm really going to drug you or something" Paul replied turning into the parking lot of a restaurant and then shutting the car off.

"Where are you going?"

"We are going to go in there and we are going to eat. I'm starving and you said you wouldn't lighten up until you were out of the car with me" Paul said getting out of the car and shutting the door.

"I meant as in away from you" Stephanie replied opening her door and stepping on to the pavement and crossed her arms.

"Just come eat with me" Paul said motioning his head towards the restaurant.

"I'm not really hungry"

"Fine. Then stay here" Paul shrugged his shoulders and started towards the restaurant. Stephanie sighed in defeat and closed her door and followed behind him, she wasn't going to sit and wait in the car. This was definitely the last thing she wanted to do.

After entering the restaurant and sitting down Paul placed his order and Stephanie decided she might as well eat too. Even though she told Paul she wasn't hungry she had started to feel her stomach rumble from the smell of the food. While they waited on their food Stephanie and Paul sat in silence until they heard the ringing of a cellphone. Stephanie pulled her cellphone out to see Shane's name across the ID and answered quickly afraid something might have happened to Aiden.

"Hello" Stephanie answered.

"Hey so how is your wedding night?" Shane joked.

"Funny. Is something wrong?" Stephanie asked her hand shaking from worry.

"No everything is fine. Aiden wanted to talk to you" Shane replied and Stephanie felt relief wash over her.

"Mommy"

"Hey sweetheart, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

"No Shane said I could stay up as long as I want"

"Um no. Put him back on the phone for a minute" Stephanie replied and then looked over to Paul "I'll be right back"

Paul watched her leave the table and go outside. The way she had been acting tonight towards him definitely made him still believe she hated him. Which brought the conversation with Shawn earlier to his mind. Part of him wanted to talk to her about it but another part of him was scared to bring it up. Stephanie kind of had a hold of his career at the moment because if she told Vince what happened between them he could go all the way back to the bottom, or worse he could get fired. He didn't know if she would do that but he wanted to be on her good side just in case. It would also be nice to just be on her good side so he had one less person pissed at him. Joanie had been angry earlier when he had left her back at home but she had avoided him all day and left without saying a word but she had a lot to say once he arrived here. She had called him and chewed him out for not telling her. He honestly didn't know how much more of it he could take.

"Okay I love you too" Paul heard Stephanie say as she made her way back to the table.

"Was that your boyfriend? Doesn't he know your out with your husband?" Paul joked and Stephanie ignored him taking a drink of her tea. "Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the night?"

"I kind of planned on it"

"Well you just talked to me so…" Stephanie just stared at him as he trailed off.

"Come on Steph can't we be mature about this?"

"Now you want to be mature?" Stephanie asked with a short laugh.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Paul asked but before Stephanie could reply the waitress brought their food to them.

"Nothing" Stephanie replied as the waitress left and Stephanie picked up her fork taking a bite of her food.

They both fell into an awkward silence as they ate their food. Paul was halfway through his food when he couldn't take it anymore. He needed the answer to the question that had been bothering him.

"Why do you hate me?" Paul asked looking up from his food and into her eyes.

"I don't hate you" Stephanie replied but he felt like she was lying.

"It doesn't feel that way. Do you have some unresolved feelings for me that you chose to turn into anger? Or maybe you're mad at me because I moved on with Joanie-"

"You seriously think I'm jealous?" Stephanie asked anger rising in her voice. She dropped her fork into her plate.

"What else could it be?" Paul replied and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. Stephanie glare turned cold and she pushed her chair away from the table and hurried out the doors.

She could feel her blood boil as she tried to keep her temper under control, she couldn't believe he had the nerve to tell her she was jealous. Stephanie walked to the car wanting to get away as fast as she could but then she remembered she had came with him.

"Steph" she heard him call after her as she made her way to his car.

"What?" Stephanie asked turning around to see he had almost made his way towards her.

"I didn't mean that" Paul said and she could see the apologetic expression as he reached her. It didn't help her feel less angry though.

"I think you did"

"No I really didn't. I just don't get why you are mad at me"

"Oh I don't know Paul. How about it was because we spent the summer together and then you just break it off with me without having the balls to tell me and leaving me…" Stephanie trailed off and shut up quickly as she was about to say pregnant. She was letting her temper get the best of her and she wasn't thinking clearly.

"Leaving you what Steph?"

"Alone" Stephanie said quietly taking a breath to calm herself down.

"So you're pissed at me for not saying anything?"

"I think I'm more pissed at myself for being stupid enough back then to believe that you loved me back" Stephanie blurted out and Paul froze.

"You were in love with me?"

"No" Stephanie replied sarcastically "why else do you think I would lose my virginity to you"

"You were a virgin?" Paul asked fumbling over his words.

"Yeah I thought that much was obvious. I'm not the type of girl that just sleeps around"

"I just thought…."

"What?"

"That what we had was just a summer fling" Paul replied and the words hurt her more than it should of but she should of known it was something like that for him.

"Can you just take me to my hotel?" Stephanie asked turning around before he could see the tear that rolled down her cheek. Damn him for making her cry, she told herself after weeks of crying all those years ago she would never cry over him again. She didn't even understand why she was letting him affect her now, she had moved on with her life. Stephanie wiped the tear away as she opened her door and got in the car.

When they reached the hotel she jumped from the car once he parked and walked quickly inside to the lobby. She pressed the button for the elevator and after a moment the doors opened and she stepped inside but before the doors closed Paul got into the elevator with her.

He didn't say anything to her the whole way to her floor, he just stood beside of her with his hands in his pocket. When the doors opened again she stepped out into the hallway and walked to her room. She pulled her keycard out of her purse and opened her door. After she stepped inside she went to shut it behind her but she felt something holding it back and turned around to see Paul had his hand on the door.

"I'm sorry Steph. I know that doesn't fix anything but I'm going to do everything I can to get you to stop hating me" Paul said and then after that he turned and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you everyone for your reviews. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

"You look so beautiful Steph" Linda said with tears in her eyes. It was the final moment of the night, her fake wedding. Linda was acting if she were really getting married or something as she watched her mother dry her tears with a tissue.

"Mom it's not real" Stephanie said with a laugh.

"I know but I can't help it" Linda replied her voice cracking a little. "Okay I better get going before I'm a mess"

"I'll be out there soon" Stephanie said as her mother took one last look at her and left her dressing room.

Stephanie took a breath and exhaled slowly. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Although part of it was because she was afraid of tripping and falling but the rest of it was officially beginning her storyline with Paul and how the fans would react. Part of her was still hoping Vince would change his mind because she still didn't want this. Paul had apologized last night for the things that had happened but that still change the way she felt and how bad it still hurt to think about it. Stephanie shook those thoughts away, she didn't want to think about them. Especially since she had to go out there and pretend to be ecstatic about her wedding.

Stephanie opened her door and stepped out and went to look for her dad when Paul caught her attention as he walked down the hallway towards her.

"Wow Steph just…wow" Paul said as he reached her and she rolled her eyes but couldn't help the blush that warmed her cheeks.

"Thanks" Stephanie replied and he smiled at her.

"Did you get my flowers?"

"Yes I did but they weren't really necessary Paul"

"It's just another one of my ways of saying sorry" Paul replied putting his hands in his pocket. He looked away and stared past her. She turned her head to see what he was staring at and her eyes landed on Joanie. Stephanie expected him to walk off to talk to her but he just stood there watching her, it was a pretty uncomfortable moment. Stephanie cleared her throat and he turned his attention back on her.

"So are ready to ruin this wedding?" Stephanie asked trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah there is nothing like ruining a wedding" Paul joked and smiled but she could tell something was bothering him. Especially after the way he stared off at Joanie but she wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't any of her business and she didn't want to care.

"Steph it's almost time are you ready?" Stephanie heard Vince's voice behind her.

"Yeah I'm ready" Stephanie replied turning around looking at him.

"I'll see you out there soon" Paul said and she nodded her head at him.

She then followed Vince down the hallway to the gorilla and Andrew was waiting to go out. He looked over at her and smiled.

"You look great Steph" Andrew said and she smiled back at him. She didn't blush the way Paul had made her and she didn't understand why his compliment was any different. Something must be wrong with her tonight.

"Thanks" Stephanie replied as Andrew's music started to play and he made his way through the curtains.

Her turn was next and the butterflies in her stomach was ten times worse than before.

"Are you ready?" Vince asked looking over at her.

"Yeah. I'd be even more ready if you would just let my storyline with Andrew keep going" Stephanie replied and hooked her arm through Vince's and he just patted her arm not saying anything. After a moment the music started for her to walk down. Taking a deep breath they went through the curtains and she put on the biggest smile she could.

After it was over Stephanie stepped through the curtains and hurried for her dressing room to get the wedding dress off. She opened her door and went in and locked it behind her. When she was done dressing back into her usual clothes when there was a knock on her door. She went over and unlocked it to see Shane.

"Hey" Shane greeted her.

"Hey"

"Are you getting ready to leave?"

"Yeah, why?" Stephanie asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well Marissa and I have this friend who would like to meet you"

"Really Shane?" She sighed "Why tonight?"

"He came to see the show and I was thinking why wait since you both are in the same place"

"I can't tonight. I have to go home to Aiden, I'm sure Kelsi is up waiting" Stephanie replied grabbing the wedding dress and her purse and stepped out into the hallway.

"He's heading this way. It won't take long" Shane said and Stephanie looked up to see a tall slender man with dark brown hair walking their way. As he came closer Stephanie eyes locked on to his pale blue eyes and he smiled at her.

"Hi I'm Jake" He said holding out his hand to her. She shook his hand and smiled at him. He was attractive and she couldn't help but to be drawn to him.

"I'm Stephanie"

"I know" he laughed "Shane and Marissa is always going on about you and how I should meet you"

"They are always doing this stuff" Stephanie replied with a laugh.

"How would you like to go to dinner?"

"I can't tonight I have a son-"

"Aiden, right?" Jake asked as she nodded her head. She always tried letting guys know she had a little boy up front because if they weren't okay with it then they weren't worth her time.

"I have to go home to him. My friend is waiting on me"

"Okay we could try for another night. How does that sound?"

"That would be great" she might as well try. It had been awhile since she had a date.

"Let me walk you to your car at least" Jake said and she nodded her head and started walking down the hallway.

* * *

Paul walked out of his dressing room and shut the door behind him. He was in a bad mood from Joanie, it seemed like that was always the reason lately. She had caught him leaving flowers for Stephanie after he arrived at the arena earlier and she of course accused him of cheating on her already. He tried to explain he only left them because he had been a dick to Stephanie last night and he was trying apologize so he wasn't on Stephanie's bad side. Of course he left out the parts Joanie didn't need to know but trying to apologize to Stephanie just pissed Joanie off more at him. No matter which way he went he still had someone pissed off at him. It didn't help that Joanie was being childish and trying to piss him off back by flirting with every male she talked to tonight.

Paul sighed as he made his way out of the arena and headed to his car. On the way there he spotted Stephanie and some guy at her car. She was smiling and laughing at him, he couldn't help but feel a little envious that it was so easy for that guy to get Stephanie to like him. It wasn't that he wanted Stephanie to like him in the way she apparently liked this guy but he wanted her to like him enough to be nice to him. Which tonight she was kind of nice to him but he wasn't sure how long that was going to last. After Paul reached his car he unlocked it and got in. He started the car and started driving off not really wanting to go to the hotel he was staying at because Joanie and him was sharing a room. Paul knew once he got there it would be nothing but fighting and he wasn't sure if he could get through it tonight. Not having anywhere else to go though he made his way to the hotel.

After he arrived and parked his car he made his way into the hotel. He was hoping that maybe Joanie would already be asleep and he could just deal with the consequences of his actions tomorrow. When he reached his room he pulled out his keycard and opened the door. It was dark inside so he tried to walk blindly through the room hoping he wouldn't trip over anything. He didn't want to turn the lights on because he was pretty sure she was asleep so after reaching the bed he tried laying down gently trying not to make much movement on the bed. Then he stretched his arm out to hold her but came in contact with an empty spot on the bed. He sat up and flipped the lamp on beside of him and spotted her suitcase where she had put it when she got here. She hadn't got a new room apparently so he wondered where she was and got up to check the bathroom but the door was open and the light was off. Well at least he was safe from fighting for now which he felt relieved about but he was a little worried about where she was. He had seen her getting ready to leave when he had been talking to Stephanie.

Paul headed over to the phone and decided to try her cellphone but it just kept ringing until it went to voicemail. After that he decided to go on to bed, he knew she wasn't going to answer for him. If she wanted to act like this towards him then he wasn't going to sit up and wait on her all night.

The next morning Paul woke up and heard the shower being shut off in the bathroom. Obviously she had made it back in one piece but he was upset that she didn't tell him she was going out and wouldn't answer her cellphone.

"What time did you get in?" Paul asked startling her as she came out of the bathroom.

"Almost four" Joanie replied and shrugged.

"You could of answered your cellphone at least. I was worried about you"

"It died. Besides I thought you would be to occupied worrying about the princess"

"Damn it Joanie I already explained this shit to you and I know you're fucking lying about your cellphone. Which makes me wonder what else you're lying about" Paul shouted getting up from the bed and throwing clothes on.

"I'm not lying" Joanie said but she wouldn't turn around to face him. Now he was really pissed and he needed to get away from her and cool down.

"Where are you going?" Joanie asked eyeing him as he put his shoes on.

"Anywhere away from you" Paul replied getting up and walking past her out the hotel room door. They hadn't even talked for five minutes and he couldn't deal with her. Paul walked to elevator and pressed the button and waited on it.

"Hey Paul" Paul heard Shane and looked to see him come stand beside of him.

"Hey Shane" Paul replied noticing Shane had his suitcases. "Checking out already?"

"Yeah Marissa wants to get home" Shane replied as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Paul pushed the button to the lobby and waited for the doors to close.

"Is Stephanie staying here too?" Paul asked trying to fill the silence with small talk.

"No she went home last night" Shane replied and Paul nodded his head as the elevator made it to the lobby.

"I guess I'll see you later" Paul said stepping out of the elevator.

"Later Paul" he heard Shane say as Paul headed outside. He was seriously considering going back in and checking out too, he had to soon anyways but he decided to go for a drive and clear his head. He needed to figure something out to fix things between him and Joanie. Even though he hated her behavior lately he loved her and he definitely didn't want to lose her.

* * *

Stephanie had been up for awhile now talking to Kelsi who was asleep on the couch when she got home. She felt bad that Kelsi fell asleep waiting on her because she spent too much time talking to Jake. Kelsi didn't mind at all though thankfully but this morning she wanted details.

"He is very good looking but the most important thing is he fully accepts that I'm a mom and being a mom comes first. So far he has a great personality and I'm pretty excited about a possibility of a date" Stephanie said and she couldn't help the smile on her face. She had been smiling all morning. After Jake walked her to her car last night they ended up talking for almost an hour.

"He sounds great" Kelsi replied "but I have to ask"

"What?" Stephanie asked as Kelsi instantly looked apologetic.

"How is it being around Paul again? And I've been watching wrestling lately and oh my God he still looks hot"

"He's annoying and it hurts to be around him most of the time. You remember what he did to me and the last one wasn't a question" Stephanie replied and took a drink of her coffee.

"Does he look as hot in person as does on tv? There I turned into a question and I'm sorry for bringing it up" Kelsi said before taking a drink of her coffee.

"It's fine. I have to deal with it now that I'm in a storyline with him anyway. To answer your question no but that is because I don't look at him that way"

"Not even a little?"

"No. I don't want to think of him that way either" Stephanie replied not wanting to bring up how she blushed at his compliment last night.

"Okay I was just curious" Kelsi replied dropping the subject "Are you really going to see Jake again?"

"I don't know" Stephanie sighed "he seems great but it could all be an act and I just want to spend what time I have with Aiden"

"Well I think you should because you seem to like him. He makes you smile"

"At first I wasn't sure about him but as soon as we started talking and joking around he just made me feel something that I haven't since…" Stephanie trailed off about to say Paul but Kelsi already knew what she was referring to. Why did everything have to come back to him? God knows he hasn't made her feel like that in years and anymore all he does is irritate her.

"Are you okay Steph?" Kelsi asked as Stephanie looked into her sympathetic eyes.

"Yeah, its in the past" Stephanie said trying to get Kelsi to stop looking at her like that. She didn't want sympathy, her and Aiden had been fine without him. They still were and she wasn't some fragile little girl anymore.

"Thanks for watching Aiden last night" Stephanie said after a few minutes of silenced passed between them.

"Anytime. You know that, he's like a little nephew to me" Kelsi replied and Stephanie smiled remembering how Kelsi had been there for her through out her pregnancy.

"I really don't know what I would do without you"

"You'll never have to" Kelsi replied smiling "but right now I have to get home. I have some things to do before work"

"Okay and thank you again" Stephanie said as Kelsi got up from the kitchen table and she stood up and hugged her.

"You're welcome. I'll see you sometime soon"

"Bye" Stephanie replied as Kelsi left.

"Where did Kelsi go?" Aiden asked coming into the kitchen.

"She had to go home sweetie"

"I wanted her to watch a movie with us"

"Well she can the next time she comes over okay?"

"Okay"

"Come on let's go watch your movie" Stephanie replied as they headed to the living room. Aiden got up on the couch excited to watch his favorite movie. He had watched it a million times but it never got old to him. Stephanie put the movie in and pressed play and Aiden stared at the tv as the movie came on.

She looked over at him recognizing how much he looked like Paul. It made her wonder if anyone else would notice the resemblance and the thought worried her.

After the movie was over Stephanie heard the phone start ringing and she grabbed it as Aiden went to his room to play with his toys.

"Hello" Stephanie answered.

"Hey how was last night?" Shane asked.

"It was good. You actually set me up with someone decent"

"I knew you would like him"

"You were actually right for once" Stephanie replied with a laugh.

"Hey I'm right about a lot of things. When are you two going on a date?"

"I'm not sure. I want to spend as much time with Aiden as I can and I feel like I haven't seen him very much in the last two days"

"That is understandable but don't blow this guy off like you have the other ones. He's a good guy"

"I won't Shane"

"Well I just wanted to check in. Give Aiden a hug for me"

"I will. Bye Shane" Stephanie replied and then ended the call.

Stephanie thought about what Shane had said, sure she didn't contact most of the guys back after meeting them. She had went through some guys who had not been worth her time and the last guy she had been kind of seeing turned into a complete asshole after awhile of seeing each other. That was about eight months ago and after that she stopped trying. When she met someone worth dating she figured she would just know. Stephanie wondered into Aiden's room where he was sitting on the floor playing and sat down with him and picked up one of his toys and started playing along with him. Right now he was the only boy she wanted to focus on.

* * *

Later that night Paul woke up to complete darkness. When he checked out of the hotel earlier that day after his drive Joanie was already gone. He had flew home without her and once he arrived he found that she wasn't here either. After hours of being bored and not feeling up to going out or doing anything at all really he had laid down on the bed and fell asleep. He had no idea how long he had been out but he could see a faint light leading into the living room from the bedroom meaning that Joanie must be there. Making no attempt to move he just laid there listening for the tv or anything but it was silent until he heard Joanie. It was faint but it sounded like she was crying and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to try and comfort her. She would probably yell at him for that too but soon he found himself kicking the blankets off of himself and getting off of the bed. He walked into the living room to see the rest of the apartment was dark the only source of light was the lamp that was sitting beside of her and she was slumped over crying.

He walked around the couch coming closer to her and he could see she had her face in her hands. She sniffed and lifted her head looking straight ahead of her not noticing him. Paul cleared his throat and she froze for a minute before looking at him, her eyes looked red and her makeup smeared. She wiped away the mascara stained tears from her face.

"What's wrong Joan?" Paul asked gently and she started crying again. He sat down beside of her and put his arms around her trying to comfort her and he couldn't help but feel bad, after all it was probably his fault. Paul ran a hand through her hair and waited for her to stop crying.

"Paul I-I.." Joanie tried talking but it was useless as he could hear her trying to choke back the sobbing.

"Shhh" Paul whispered "It's okay Joan. Please tell me why you are so upset so I can fix it"

"I don't think you can" Joanie replied pushing herself away from him and staring at her hands as she put them in her lap. At least the crying had stopped, for now.

"Come on Joan I know we can fix this don't throw it away because of this storyline with Stephanie" Paul said getting up from his spot and running his hands through his hair. "Just tell me what I've done to make you this upset. I love-"

"I slept with someone else Paul" Joanie blurted out looking up at him and new tears started spilling from her eyes.

Paul stood and it was as if he could actually feel his heart break. It felt like a tightening in his chest, like he couldn't breathe and he didn't want to believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe she would cheat on him, this had to be a bad dream or some kind of joke. Paul looked into her eyes and he couldn't deny it.

"Who?" Paul asked feeling sudden anger burn in his chest.

"Please Paul it doesn't matter. I just want you to forgive me and know I will never do it again, I promise" Joanie pleaded tears streaming down her face.

"Forgive you?" Paul asked in disbelief and laughed viciously in her face. "You have been a bitch to me once my storyline started with Stephanie. Icing me out and leaving without so much as a phone call. You accused me this morning of cheating on you and now you want me to forgive you for something you accused me of?"

"I'm so sorry Paul" Joanie replied her voice breaking grabbing his hand. He pulled it away quickly and backed away from her putting distance between them.

"Who was it?" He repeated his question but she sat there crying shaking her head.

"Just let me explain why"

"I don't want an explanation. I don't want your fucking lies"

"Paul just listen to-"

"Get out!" Paul shouted he had the last straw. He didn't want to be near her and if she wasn't going to tell him who it was all he wanted was her gone.

"No Paul" Joanie replied standing up shaking her head and inching her way closer to her.

"Fine! Then I will leave and when I get back you better be gone" Paul said leaving the room and going to the bedroom and shutting and locking the door.

Paul flipped on the light looking for his suitcase. After he found it he went to the closet pulling out some of his clothes and packing them in his suitcase. As he packed he heard the doorknob trying to turn and then he heard her up against the door crying.

"Paul" Joanie cried but he ignored her zipping up his suitcase.

He went back to the closet and pulled a pair of shoes and slipped them on and then grabbed his suitcase. Paul unlocked the door and opened it to come face to face with her but he just pushed passed her and ignored her pleas as made it the front door. Without even pausing he opened the door and slammed it behind him. He kept walking until he was at his car and then he broke down crying, slamming his hands on the hood of the car.

* * *

The next day Stephanie walked down the hallway to her dressing room, she had arrived a few minutes early. She was going over the script for the night so when she reached her door she opened it and was scared half to death when she looked up to see Paul sitting on her couch. Clutching her chest as her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her she noticed Paul looked rough. His eyes puffy as if he didn't get enough sleep and his hair was a mess.

"Paul you scared me" Stephanie said breathless as she walked completely into the room and the door shut behind her.

"Sorry" Paul replied his voice somber.

"What do you need?" Stephanie asked tossing the script on her table.

"Am I really that bad of a guy?" Paul asked staring into her eyes.

"I think you might be talking to the wrong person about their opinion of you" Stephanie didn't want to get an argument with him tonight and she knew that is exactly what would happen if she was honest with what she thought of him.

"Actually you're the perfect person to talk to since according to you we dated" Paul replied and Stephanie sighed.

"I don't know you Paul. Back then I thought I did but then you proved me wrong"

"I know I hurt you Stephanie and now I think I realize exactly how much. When you love someone and they hurt you and break your trust you don't want to do feel anything but hatred for that person. It makes it easier to hide the pain" Paul said as Stephanie stared at him. She was starting to put together why he looked like hell and the reason he was asking her the question he did.

"Yeah something like that" Stephanie replied trying to fight this sudden emotion of feeling bad for him. She had been in his position before but the difference was hers was caused by him.

"This is probably karma" Paul laughed but Stephanie could tell he didn't really find it funny. "The one person I have ever really loved is gone"

His confession stung even though she heard a couple of days ago from him that he hadn't loved her. The thing that hurt worse this time was the woman he left her for was the one he loved the most. How does she bring herself into these situations? It was like reliving every thought she had when he first left her and now she knew they were true. She didn't understand why it bothered her, she didn't even care about him.

"I don't know what it is Paul" Stephanie shrugged and crossed her arms.

"I know. I'm sorry I'm rambling on" Paul said running his hand through his messy hair. "I'll get out of your hair"

Stephanie watched him get up and walk to the door before she picked the script up again to read it.

"Steph" Paul said and she turned back to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we will ever be friends? Do you think you can ever stop hating me?"

"I don't know Paul" Stephanie replied and he nodded his head and left without saying another word.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a couple of days since Paul had broke up with Joanie and he was still hurting of course but he couldn't help but get angry every time he had to see her. He hadn't been back to his apartment just for the simple fact he didn't want to have to talk to her, seeing her at the arena was enough for him. He had been trying to keep his mind off of it all by talking to Shawn or going to the gym and working out but it never worked for long.

Paul made his way toward his dressing room and opened the door dropping his bag to the floor. All he wanted to do tonight was avoid Joanie in the halls at all cost. Hell he would stay locked away in his dressing room when he wasn't needed if he had to. He sat down on the couch and pulled his hair up as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" he called watching the door as it opened and he felt relieved when he saw that it was only Stephanie.

"Hey" Stephanie said coming in and shutting the door behind her.

"I wasn't expecting to see you"

"Yeah well I came to talk about the uh…kiss" Stephanie replied looking at him.

"What kiss?" Paul asked feeling confused.

"The kiss we have to do tonight" Stephanie replied fanning the paper she had in her hands at him. He had completely forgot about that. He was supposed to kiss her after him and Vince made their deal for whoever won at Armageddon got what they wanted.

"What about it? Do you want to rehearse it or something because it's really not that hard to just kiss. We used to do it all the time" Paul said and then he smiled "Or is it that you just can't wait for later for me to kiss you?"

"Oh yeah you caught me" Stephanie replied sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Then what are you doing over there? Come sit down on the couch and we'll just make out right now" Paul joked gesturing at the seat beside of him.

"You-" Stephanie started to say but was interrupted by a knock on the door but he made no move to answer it.

"Are you going to get that?" Stephanie asked him and he made a face as if he were thinking about it. He didn't have time to get up before Stephanie went over and opened it herself.

Paul's smile he had on his face disappeared as he seen Joanie standing at the door.

"What do you want?" Paul asked in a irritated voice.

"I came to give you my key to the apartment" Joanie replied looking at him after she was done burning a hole through Stephanie.

"Did you make a copy?" Paul asked not convinced it was just that easy for her to give up.

"No" Joanie said narrowing her eyes at him and holding out the key for him to come and get.

"Just give it to Steph" Paul replied and Joanie scoffed but handed the key to Stephanie. He didn't want to even be close to her.

"That's right. She is probably going to be the one that needs it now" Joanie said and just turned and left.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Stephanie asked irritated as she shut the door.

"She probably thinks I'm fucking you" Paul said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Aren't you going to go tell her any differently?"

"Why? She won't believe me and I don't want to be anywhere near her"

"Because I don't want anyone thinking that"

"Listen Steph, I've been trying to tell her nothing is going on and she wouldn't believe me. I don't think she is going to go around spreading a rumor and if she does I'll handle it"

"What happened between you two anyway?"

"Do you care?" Paul asked arching his eyebrow.

"Not really but when she is trying to say we are sleeping together it raises some questions"

"It wasn't about you Steph. I broke up with her because she cheated on me" Paul replied feeling his once okay mood slip back into a sour mood.

"Oh" Stephanie said playing with the key that was still in her hands.

"So what was it about the kiss you wanted to talk about?" Paul asked after it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything else.

"I just wanted to tell you, no warn you. Do not try and put your tongue in my mouth" Stephanie replied and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay. I'll try not to" He said still laughing.

"Oh here is your key" Stephanie said holding out the key to him. He looked at it then looked at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep it? You could always come by and consummate this marriage" Paul joked with a smirk. Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him and then she looked at the key curling her fingers around it. She then smirked at him and slipped the key in her jacket and walked out of his dressing room.

* * *

Later that night Stephanie walked backstage wiping her mouth with her hand. She had specifically told him not to try and stick his tongue in her mouth and that was exactly what he tried before she pulled away quickly. He did it on purpose she knew that much and it irritated her.

"I don't know why she is acting like that. It's not like she didn't like it" Stephanie heard Joanie say to someone but she didn't even turn around to look. She kept walking trying to be the bigger person and just hoped nobody would believe her.

Stephanie walked into her dressing room and closed the door behind her. She went over to her jacket where she had left it sitting on the couch and searched for her chap stick to relieve her now irritated lips from rubbing them so hard. As she was searching for her chap stick in her jacket she came across the key in one of her pockets and pulled it out. She had forgot that she had taken it. The only reason she had was just to mess with him and watch him sweat it out. What if he had thought she was seriously considering his offer? No he was broken up over Joanie, she could tell that much. Even though he was trying to cover it up with his joking earlier but then again he had just broken up with Joanie when Paul and her began dating those years ago. She was really overthinking this but next time she probably shouldn't do something like that again. Stephanie jumped a little when there was a knock on the door.

"What?" Stephanie asked irritated when she opened the door and found Paul standing there smiling.

"Are you going to invite me in?"

"No" Stephanie replied and went to shut the door but he held his hand up stopping her from doing so.

"Don't be mad" Paul said with a chuckle.

"How can I not? You deliberately did what I asked you not to" Stephanie said raising her voice a little.

"Just let me in before everyone starts staring at us" Paul replied and she sighed in defeat walking back into her dressing room. The last thing she wanted was to make a scene in front of everyone.

"What do you want?" Stephanie asked crossing her arms.

"I just came to apologize" Paul said holding his hands up.

"If you hadn't done it then you wouldn't need to" Her cellphone starting ringing before she could say anymore and she went over to the table and picked it up.

"Hello" Stephanie answered with irritation still in her voice.

"Stephanie?" The voice asked. It took her a minute to recognize the voice but when she did a smile formed on her lips forgetting her irritation with Paul.

"Jake. Yeah it's me. I'm sorry I'm just stressed" Stephanie replied tucking her hair behind her ear.

"That's okay. I thought I might have dialed the wrong number" Jake said with a laugh.

"Nope right number"

"I hadn't heard from you and I was still wondering if you still wanted to go on that date"

"Yeah definitely" Stephanie replied turning her back to Paul trying to get a little privacy.

"How about tomorrow night? Does that work for you?"

"You know what that sounds great"

"Great" Jake said and she could hear his enthusiasm through the phone "I'll call you tomorrow"

"Okay I'll talk to you tomorrow" Stephanie replied and then ended the call.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Paul asked and she turned around to look at him. She had forgot he was there for a moment.

"No not yet" Stephanie replied with a smile. She felt like she couldn't even feel irritated with Paul now that she was thinking about Jake.

"I thought you had a boyfriend"

"No you assumed I did" Stephanie said sitting her phone back on the table.

"Are you even mad at me anymore? Your mood just completely flipped"

"I'm less irritated than I was"

"You need to bring this guy here then and maybe you would be in a better mood all the time" Paul replied with a laugh.

"I would be in a better mood if you would just do as I ask and not intentionally do things to make me mad"

"Maybe one day you'll lighten up and laugh it off"

"If that was a joke well it was terrible. Besides Joanie smarted off about it" Stephanie replied crossing her arms again.

"She was watching?" Paul asked his facial expression changing for a moment.

"Oh my God was this about Joanie?" She asked feeling the irritation come back full force "I don't want in whatever the hell you're trying to do"

"No. Do you really think Joanie would be able to see me trying to stick my tongue in your mouth?"

"Then what was the look you just had when I mentioned Joanie watching?"

"Nothing Steph. Can we please stop talking about her now?" Stephanie shook her head but dropped the subject and went over to the coffee table picking up his key.

"Here" Stephanie said going over to him and handing him the key and he slipped it into his pocket.

"I thought I was going to have to change my locks there for a moment" Paul joked.

"So you don't want to consummate the marriage after all huh?" Stephanie asked with a smirk. She loved that he had been sweating it out after all.

"Oh no that I want to do" Paul joked back "but knowing you, you would just come over just to handcuff me to the bed and leave me there"

"Your probably right" Stephanie replied with a laugh "you should probably change your locks anyway"

"I think I will" Paul said turning and heading toward the door. "I'm surprised you actually joked back with me there for a minute"

"It's probably because I'm in a good mood from Jake" Stephanie replied with a shrug.

"Maybe we can get to being friends after all" Paul said and smiled at her before opening the door and leaving.

* * *

"Wait. You wanted to go to a bar for me to hit on girls?" Paul asked shaking his head in disbelief.

"No I wanted to come to a bar and drink. You might as well try to pick up someone to help you start getting over Joanie since you won't be drinking" Shawn laughed and put his glass of whiskey to his mouth taking a drink.

Shawn had come out to stay with him since he was having a hard time and thought he needed to come cheer him up. Since Paul was able to go back to his apartment Shawn thought it was the perfect time. After Shawn arrived and Paul picked him up from the airport the first thing he wanted to do was go to a bar and drink, so here they sat.

Paul looked around the bar not really spotting anyone that interested him even if he were to try and pick up a girl. He wasn't ready for any of that yet so Shawn's attempt was futile.

"We are supposed to be having fun and I am not" Paul said looking at Shawn.

"You would be if you would just talk to one of these girls" Shawn replied gesturing to the women in the bar.

"I'm not interested"

"Come on. Joanie is probably out there still fucking that guy why can't you have fun?" Shawn asked as Paul winced at the thought of that.

"Let's not talk about that unless your trying to depress me"

"Yeah I shouldn't of said that" Shawn replied with a apologetic expression. "Just flirt with someone and I'll leave you alone"

"Fine. Pick one" Paul sighed as Shawn looked around the bar.

"How about…her" Shawn said pointing at a girl not that far away from the table they were sitting at. She was sitting at the bar and all he could see was her brown hair that laid in curls to her shoulders and wearing a dress that looked way to nice to be at a bar in. He had no idea why Shawn even picked her out but he didn't ask. All he wanted to do was go flirt with this girl and get Shawn to stop bugging him about it.

Paul slowly got up from his seat and made his way over to her trying to ignore the smile Shawn had plastered on his face before he left their table.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Paul asked sitting down beside of her. Her head was turned away from him so he still had no idea what she even looked like.

"I already have one" she said picking up her glass and turning her head to look at him. He froze when he saw it was Stephanie.

Paul looked back at the table where Shawn was to see him laughing. He must have seen her when she walked in and decided to mess with him. Paul flipped him off before turning his attention back to her.

"Are you trying to hit on me?" Stephanie asked arching her eyebrow.

"No I thought you were someone else"

"Are you trying to say I'm not hot enough to be hit on?" Stephanie asked before taking a drink.

"I didn't mean-"

"It's fine Paul" Stephanie said waving it off.

"Wow I think you are the most beautiful woman I've seen tonight" came a voice from the other side of Stephanie. Paul looked over to see some young blonde guy that hardly look like he even turned twenty one staring at Stephanie and rolled his eyes.

"Are you hitting on my wife?" Paul asked as the guy looked over at him with a frightened expression on his face.

"Uh um… sorry" he said before getting up and walking off.

"Thanks for that" Stephanie replied which surprised him because usually she hated when he joked about being her husband but then again she looked like she didn't want to be bothered. Which was why he even said anything to the guy.

"No problem. So what brings you here? I'm sure you didn't dress like that just to come here"

"I was waiting for my date at a restaurant just down the street and he never showed so I ended up here" Stephanie replied and he suddenly understood why she was offended by his earlier comment.

"I'm sorry Steph" Paul said putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment.

"It's not your fault" Stephanie replied and then downed the rest of her drink and motioned for the bartender.

"Maybe you should take it easy Steph. You have to drive home"

"That is actually more funny than getting stood up. My friend offered to drop me off at the restaurant to meet him since she had to come this way. I agreed because I was expecting him to bring me home" Stephanie said with a laugh.

"Are you already drunk?" Paul asked giving her a strange look.

"I might be a little tipsy. I had I think two glasses of wine before I left the restaurant because I got tired of looking stupid. I walked out to call a cab when I spotted this bar and decided to get something stronger before going home and well it's been awhile since I've really drank" Stephanie explained as Paul looked back at his and Shawn's table to see Shawn staring at them.

"Do you want me to walk out with you and wait with you for a cab?"

"No. I'm not ready to leave yet" Stephanie replied before ordering another drink.

"At least come and sit with me and Shawn. I don't want to leave you sitting here by yourself" Paul said and she looked at him for a moment before nodding her head.

A little later Paul watched as Stephanie finished off yet another drink.

"I think that's enough Steph" Paul said as she put her glass on the table.

"I'm just getting started" Stephanie said her words slurring.

"No it's time to get you home" Paul replied as she giggled.

"Wow she really is drunk" Shawn said with a laugh.

"Come on" Paul said standing up and grabbed her hand pulling her up. She swayed a little once she was on her feet and he held onto her to keep her from falling. Once she was steady on her feet he held on to her arm as they walked out of the bar to make sure she didn't stumble over and fall.

"Are we taking her home?" Shawn asked Paul as they made it out of the bar. Paul let go of Stephanie when it seemed she was good enough to walk without his help.

"I have no idea where she lives" Paul replied looking at him "and I'm kind of worried about leaving her on her own"

"Why?" Shawn asked as Paul looked toward Stephanie who had made her way to the parking lot.

"Because she's drunk and she is trying to open someone else's car with her keys" Paul replied before hurrying to stop her in case the car had an alarm on it.

"My car won't open" Stephanie said as he took her keys away from her.

"That's because it's not your car" Paul replied taking her hand and leading her to the passenger side of his car and opening the door.

"She is a lot more fun drunk" Shawn said when he caught up with them at the car.

"I don't call this fun" Paul replied and sighed as Stephanie got in the car and he shut the door. This wasn't what he was expecting at all tonight.

"So do we just take her to your apartment?" Shawn asked walking over to the driver side door and opening it.

"Yeah I guess so I just hope she doesn't flip out about it" Paul replied while Shawn climbed behind the driver seat and settle into the backseat.

On the way back to his apartment he sat silent as Shawn who seemed quite tipsy sang along to a song on the radio horribly and Stephanie sat trying to talk but everything kept coming out garbled and she kept giggling. He really couldn't understand much anyway from Shawn singing so loud. Thankfully it didn't take long for them to make it back to his apartment because if he had to spend another minute listening to Shawn sing he was going to end up with a headache.

Paul got out of the car quickly after parking and headed to the other side of the car to open Stephanie's door. He helped her out and guided her to the apartment building. After they made it to his floor of the building he unlocked the door and stepped in turning on the lights. Stephanie walked off into the apartment and Shawn went directly into the kitchen opening the refrigerator.

"You hardly have anything in here" Shawn said as Paul headed into the kitchen where he was.

"I haven't been here until today" Paul replied leaning up against the counter.

"Ah you have stuff to make a sandwich at least" Shawn said pulling out the food as Paul heard something fall to the floor.

"I guess I need to go take care of her" Paul pushed himself away from the counter to see Stephanie picking up a picture frame.

"You look happy here" Stephanie said trying to turn the picture frame around but dropped it again. He sighed and picked it up seeing the picture of him and Joanie. It was a picture of them right when they had got back together years ago. He looked at it a few seconds before tossing it into the garbage.

"You need to go to sleep Steph" Paul said walking over to her putting his hand on her arms to turn her towards his bedroom but she shrugged him off. Instead she placed her arms around his neck and giggled.

"You're trying to get me in bed" Stephanie slurred as he put his arms around her picking her up slightly and heading to his bedroom.

"Yes I am" Paul replied putting her feet back on the ground when they were in his bedroom "but to sleep. I'm not trying to do what you are trying to imply"

He unwrapped her arms from around his neck and went to the bed pulling the blanket down. Stephanie fell back on the bed moments later groaning.

"Help me" Stephanie said stretching her foot out to him indicating she needed help with her shoes. He couldn't help but chuckle as he slipped her high heel off and repeated the action with the other foot.

"Goodnight Stephanie" Paul said before turning around to go back to the living room.

"Paul" Stephanie called his name softly.

"Yeah" Paul answered turning back around.

"Did you care about me at all?" Stephanie asked and he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. He didn't know what brought this question up for her, maybe it was the picture.

"I…" he trailed off staring at his hands wanting to be honest with her but at the same time he was afraid to. When he looked back up at her she had already closed her eyes and he was pretty sure she was asleep. He let out a sigh of relief before standing up and heading to the living room.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Shawn asked as Paul went to sit next to him on the couch.

"No" Paul replied looking at him as if he were crazy "I think the alcohol is starting to kill your brain cells"

"They already have" Shawn laughed before looking at him with a serious face "but seriously you have went out of your way to get her to stop hating you. Which ended up pissing Joanie to the point-"

"That she cheated on me. Are you trying to say it was my fault?"

"No. I was going to say to the point you two were going to break up even if she hadn't cheated. You have just put Stephanie before anything lately and I couldn't help but think something was going on"

"Nothing is going on" Paul said as Shawn just nodded his head dropping the subject. He couldn't believe Shawn thought that because what him and Stephanie had was over a long time ago. Besides he was hurting over Joanie and he hadn't moved on from that so there was no way he could feel something for Stephanie. Right?


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you AttitudeEraChick for your review. I had completely forgot about that kiss too until I was watching some old videos of Stephanie and Triple H! I had no idea about Joanie saying that on twitter and yeah that was really surprising. Anyway here is the new chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Stephanie opened her eyes and she winced at the throbbing pain in her head, it took her a moment to remember the events from last night. She remembered drinking at a bar where she seen Paul and Shawn and sat down with them but after that was blank. Stephanie sat up in the bed as she heard laughter coming from the next room and started to panic. What had she done last night? Had she gone home with someone? She felt her already queasy stomach churn at the thought. God how could she be so irresponsible like that? Especially when she had Aiden to worry about. Thankfully earlier that day before what was supposed to be a date, Linda had showed up at her house to visit and Aiden wanted to go home with her for the night. But still she should have never got drunk, that was a stupid mistake especially over some stupid guy.

Stephanie threw the blankets off of her and stood up to head in the direction of the sound of laughter not sure of what else to do. She had to come out at some point, she just hoped she didn't do anything too bad. When she made it into the living room she squinted at the light and looked around to find Shawn and Paul sitting on a couch talking. She should have probably felt relieved but all she could feel was scared about what she could have said to Paul while she was drunk.

"She's awake" Shawn said to Paul nodding his head in her direction.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Not really" she replied walking over to the chair beside of the couch and sitting down.

"Here" Paul said holding out a bottle of water to her. She took the water from him and took a drink from it.

"Did I do or say anything…weird?" Stephanie asked staring at the bottle of water. She couldn't look him in the eyes afraid of knowing the answer.

"Nothing too weird" Paul laughed and she looked at him feeling relief wash over her.

"You were pretty funny" Shawn piped in as Paul looked over at him. He must have given Shawn an evil look because she watched Shawn shrug his shoulders at him. Stephanie groaned before sitting the bottle of water on the table and then put her face in her hands feeling embarrassed.

"I've got to get home" Stephanie said raising her head and standing up quickly. She made her way back into the bedroom she came from earlier and flipped on the light looking for her shoes and purse. It only took a moment to spot her shoes and she sat down on the edge of the bed and started slipping them on. Once her shoes were on she grabbed her purse sitting on the nightstand and headed out of the room. Stephanie made it back into the living room searching through her purse for her cellphone and once she fished it out she looked up to see Paul slipping his jacket on.

"Are you ready?" Paul asked grabbing the keys to his car.

"You don't have to take me. I was going to call a cab" Stephanie replied feeling nervous. She wasn't sure if Paul taking her home was a good idea. What if he wanted to come inside of her house?

"I can drive you home Steph. It's no problem really"

"Just make sure she doesn't try to get into someone else's car again" Shawn said and laughed making her flush with embarrassment.

"Fine. Let's just go" Stephanie replied and hurried to the front door. Tonight was completely embarrassing and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear any more about what she did. The most important part was that it seemed she hadn't mentioned Aiden to them.

Stepping into the elevator and pushing the button to the lobby Stephanie and Paul stood quietly until they reached their destination. When they made it outside Stephanie wrapped her arms around herself feeling the cold night air and shivered. She had forgotten her jacket in Kelsi's car because she was in a hurry thinking she was late for her date. What an idiot she had felt like when he never showed. It just reminded her of why she usually blew off these guys that tried asking her out or the ones Shane had tried setting her up with.

"Here" Paul said stopping in the middle of the parking lot and slipping off his jacket and slipped it on to her shoulders.

"Thanks" Stephanie smiled at him. At least he was being a gentleman towards her for some reason. Although she didn't dwell on the reasons as they started walking towards his car all she could feel was gratitude towards him. He had taken care of her and he hadn't gone out of his way to make her feel embarrassed about things she could have possibly done last night.

Paul walked over to the passenger side once they reached the car and opened the door for her. When she got in he shut the door behind her and she put her seatbelt on waiting for him to join her. She couldn't wait to get home and go back to sleep for a while longer before she had to pick Aiden up later. Hopefully by then she wouldn't feel as bad as she did now but even if she didn't she was just going to have to suck it up. It was her very stupid decision to drink in the first place and she would have to deal with the consequences.

"You will have to give me directions" Paul said joining her in the car. Stephanie nodded her head as he started the car and she told him where to turn as they headed out of the parking lot. Stephanie stared out the window as they made their way down the road trying to recall anything about last night but nothing new was coming to her. Part of her didn't want to remember but it was also bugging her that a chunk of time was missing for her.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked when she sighed.

"It's just bugging me that I don't know what I said or did last night"

"You really didn't do much. As Shawn mentioned you tried unlocking someone's car with your keys, which I have by the way. You tried talking in the car on the way to my apartment but I couldn't understand a word from Shawn's awful singing. When we got to my apartment you went in and dropped a picture I had and then I tried to get you in bed- "

"Oh my God. We didn't…" Stephanie trailed off feeling like she might be sick. That was most definitely her last time drinking. If her headache wasn't already kicking her ass she would probably try kicking her own self in the ass.

"No we did not. You wrapped your arms around my neck and implied that was what I was trying to do" Paul replied shaking his head "Do you really think that badly of me?"

"I want to, sometimes" Stephanie replied honestly. She couldn't help it after he left her pregnant and alone for Joanie without a word and the first thing he wanted after finding out they had to work together was for Joanie or Vince to never find out what happened. But then there was those times like tonight where she seen him in a new perspective. It was all starting to become confusing for her to figure out who he really was. Was he that asshole that just left her or was he actually a caring guy?

"I'm really not that type of guy Steph. I wish you could see that. I know that what I did back then was a really shitty thing to do but I was really stupid back then"

"It still happened" Stephanie replied softly.

"I know" Paul replied with remorse in his voice as they turned on to the street she lived on. She pointed out her house when they got closer and she could feel her pulse picking up which in turn made her head feel worse. Paul turned into her driveway and shut off the car and opened his door and she panicked more hopefully she could find a reason to not invite him in. Stephanie got out of the car and started walking up the driveway to her house feeling like she might throw up.

"Nice house" Paul said when they reached her front door and reached in his pocket and pulled out her keys. "Here you go"

"Thanks" Stephanie replied taking the keys from him and turning to unlock her door.

"Steph"

"Yeah?" Stephanie asked turning back around to face him after getting the door unlocked. She really hoped he wasn't about to ask to be invited in.

"Don't worry about that guy. He was very stupid to stand you up. There is a lot of guys out there who would be lucky to have such a beautiful and intelligent woman as you in their life" Stephanie couldn't help but feel her heart melt a little at the words even though he was one of the guys in her life that had left her.

"Thank you Paul and thanks for taking care of me last night" Stephanie replied with a small smile feeling the gratitude from earlier once again and he returned her smile before leaning in towards her. She felt her heart race and closed her eyes on instinct waiting for his lips to reach hers but after a moment she felt his lips press gently on her cheek. Feeling somewhat disappointed she opened her eyes as his lips left her cheek.

"You're welcome" Paul replied "Goodnight"

"Goodnight" Stephanie replied as he turned and walked back to his car. She opened the door and flipped on the light feeling stupid thinking he was going to kiss her. But what scared her more was that she thought she might have wanted him to. What the hell was wrong with her?

* * *

Paul opened the door to his apartment to see Shawn still up and sitting on the couch watching tv and he turned to look at Paul and shook his head.

"What?" Paul asked confused walking into the living room and tossing his keys on the table.

"There is nothing going on, bullshit" Shawn replied shaking his head.

"There isn't" Paul said sitting down on the couch beside of him.

"Sure. Where is your jacket?" Shawn asked as Paul realized he forgot to get it back from Stephanie.

"Stephanie has it" Paul replied and Shawn wiggled his eyebrows. "Not because of what you are thinking. She didn't have a jacket so I let her wear mine. I forgot to get it back"

"I'm sure it's laying in her bedroom floor" Shawn joked and Paul hit him lightly on the arm. "Hey I was kidding"

"You are as bad as Joanie. Expect I don't have to hear bitching about it"

"Speaking of Joanie…"

"What?"

"You left your cellphone here and it started ringing so I answered it without thinking and it was her"

"What did she want?" Paul asked trying to stop his heart from racing whenever her name was mentioned. He wished his feelings for her would just go away but he knew it was going to take time.

"She didn't say. She just asked me to have you call her back"

"Well that is not happening" Paul replied getting up from the couch. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? He didn't know what else to do to get it through her head that it was over. They couldn't be friends so if that is what she was expecting then she was wrong. He wouldn't be able to get over her if he didn't completely cut her out of his life.

"I told her that but you know Joanie" Shawn said with a shrug.

"Yeah I do. Which means that it isn't going to be that easy to get rid of her." Of course. He wondered why she had even given her key back to him to begin with if she wasn't giving up but he knew it was too easy. So she must have something else up her sleeve but what that was he had no idea.

"I do not envy you. Trying to get rid of one woman while chasing after another one that doesn't particularly like you. It has to be tough being you" Shawn chuckled and Paul narrowed his eyes at him.

"You are my best friend but if you keep up with that shit I'm seriously going to hurt you" Paul replied before walking off to his room. At this moment all he wanted to do was go to sleep and forget all about Joanie and the world at the moment.

Stripping his clothes off and hitting the light switch he crawled into his bed pulling the blanket over him. Paul rolled over to his side facing the spot Stephanie had been earlier. He could still softly smell the scent of her perfume when he inhaled which made him start thinking about what Shawn had said earlier that night. What if he right? He couldn't help but notice that when he was around Stephanie lately that she made him forget about Joanie and he didn't seem to hurt as much. Paul sighed and rolled over to lay on his back trying to forget about it. Stephanie was just his friend and that was all she would ever be and maybe in time when he was over Joanie he would find someone new.

Later that day Paul arrived at the arena feeling nervous knowing that Joanie was going to be there. She had tried calling him again later that day but he ignored it but he knew he couldn't avoid her forever. He had a feeling that he would probably be seeing her later that night because when Joanie was determined she wouldn't just give up. After he made it to his door he slipped in and shut the door dropping his duffel bag next to the couch. Usually he was excited about being here and getting to wrestle but Joanie had killed that as of late. Thank God he wasn't in any storylines with her anymore that would force them to be in contact. The only time he had to see her was when she showed up at his dressing room door knocking or when he passed her in the halls.

Paul walked back to his door opening it and looking out to see if he seen Joanie anywhere. He didn't really want to stay locked up in his dressing room all night and he needed to get something to drink. After looking around and not seeing her he decided to go get something to drink. He nodded to some of the wrestlers he talked to occasionally as he headed down the hallway but before he made it to his destination he froze. Stephanie was standing and talking outside her dressing room to the guy he seen her talking to at her car last week which would be the guy that stood her up. What the hell? He clenched and unclenched his fists feeling something familiar rise in his chest before he made himself start moving again to go grab the drink he came for. Did she just forgive the guy that easily? She couldn't have possibly forgot last night where she got drunk over that asshole and he was the one that took care of her all night.

"Paul" he heard his name called softly behind him. Fuck. Apparently this was just not his night.

"What?" Paul asked irritated and turned around to face Joanie.

"I need to talk to you"

"I don't want to talk to you. Didn't you get the hint when I didn't call you back last night or answer you this morning?" Paul asked almost shouting. Joanie stood there for a moment before tears started streaming down her face and he felt bad for a moment before he remembered what she had been putting him through since she cheated. Maybe he shouldn't have taken his anger over what he had just saw on her but she was the next person he was angry at and it just kind of came out. All he knew was he needed to get away from there and cool down so he walked off leaving her crying. He felt bad but there was no reason to stand there and make everything worse because he was already angry.

Paul walked back to his dressing room and opened then slammed the door behind him. He went over the couch and sat down opening the bottle of water he grabbed before Joanie interrupted him. After taking a drink he sat the water on the table and ran his hands through his hair and concentrated on his breathing trying to calm down. But he was interrupted with a knock on the door which made him irritated. It better not be Joanie, there was just no way he could deal with her right now before he completely lost his temper. Getting up and walking over to the door he gripped the doorknob and turned it to see Stephanie standing at his door.

"I heard your door slam all the way from my dressing room- "

"Awww you took time from your boyfriend to check on me?" Paul asked sarcastically with the anger still in his voice.

"What the hell?" Stephanie asked as he walked back into his dressing room.

"Funny that was my thought when I saw you with him. Did you just forget about last night?" Paul asked turning around to look at her. She stepped into his room and shut the door behind her.

"It was a misunderstanding"

"How in the hell was it a misunderstanding?" Paul asked crossing his arms and waited impatiently for her to explain.

"Well it's really none of your business but just so you know he tried calling me but my phone was on silent so I missed the call. His mom got in an accident and he went to the hospital" Stephanie explained as he scoffed and shook his head.

"That's the excuse?"

"It's not an excuse Paul"

"Sure. I've heard some of the guys I used to hang around with give the same excuses. Usually it was because they were in the middle of getting- "

"I don't want to know! I know he's telling the truth" Stephanie replied her voice rising to meet his.

"How do you know?"

"Why do you care? You're acting…"

"What?" Paul asked after she trailed off and looked at the floor.

"Jealous" Stephanie replied finally looking back up into his eyes. He laughed and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not jealous" but as soon as he said it he knew it was a lie. He couldn't help but feel that when he seen them together. It scared him because why would he be jealous when he was still in the process of getting over Joanie? Fucking Shawn putting these ideas in his head. That had to be it.

"Then I have no idea what your problem is" Stephanie replied turning around and heading for the door.

"I don't know Steph. Maybe it was because I was the one who took care of you last night" Paul said and she turned back around.

"I didn't ask you to"

"No but if I would have left you God knows where you would have ended up"

"And I'm grateful to you for that. What? Do you want something in return for it?" Stephanie asked with anger still in her voice.

"No. I just don't understand why you just disregard what happened with him and just let it go like it was nothing"

"Because….at least he called" Stephanie replied before opening the door and shutting it behind her leaving the sting of her words with him.

After Paul's match he packed up his wrestling gear quickly wanting to catch Stephanie before she left to apologize for his anger from earlier. Even though he was still kind of hurt over her comment before she left but maybe he deserved it. As he was zipping up his duffel bag he heard a knock on his door. Maybe he didn't have to try to catch with her after all, maybe she felt as bad as he did. He went over to the door and opened it but it wasn't Stephanie this time, it was Joanie. Great now he probably wouldn't get to talk to Stephanie.

"What now Joanie?" Paul asked in a defeated tone.

"Can I come in?" Joanie asked and he debated for a moment on if he should let her. "Please?"

"Fine" Paul replied walking back into his dressing room and sitting down on the couch. "What is it?"

"I know what I did was- "

"I don't want to hear it Joanie" Paul replied shaking his head as she sat down on the couch beside of him. "We aren't getting back together no matter how much you apologize"

"Paul..." Joanie trailed off taking his hand and immediately pulled it back. He wasn't going to let her toy with him.

"I'm leaving Joanie. You just have to accept this and move on" Paul replied picking up his duffel bag and started heading for the door.

"I think I might be pregnant"

* * *

Stephanie drove home still feeling irritated from Paul's behavior earlier. She really had no idea what had got into him but she hoped her comment to him before she left had some effect on him. It wasn't what she meant to say at first but her anger got the best of her. Especially after he laughed in her face about him acting jealous even though she knew that wasn't true. At least Jake had been there to calm her down afterwards even though she was now having doubts about the reason he stood her up because of Paul. But she decided to try and ignore it considering Shane had confirmed what Jake said to be true because after he couldn't get a hold of her last night he called Shane and was distraught over his mom. She believed Shane so she decided to give Jake another chance and they decided to go on a date sometime over the weekend. For now, she just wanted to get back to Aiden and forget about everyone else.

She pulled into her driveway and parked the car. After shutting the engine off she got out and walked to her house feeling less irritated than before.

"Hey" Kelsi greeted her as she stepped in the house.

"Hey is he asleep?" Stephanie asked when she looked around and didn't see Aiden.

"Yeah he was exhausted"

"I was looking forward to seeing him. I had such an awful night" Stephanie replied sitting down at the kitchen table where Kelsi was sitting doing crossword puzzles.

"Why? What happened?" Kelsi asked looking up at her with concern.

"Paul" Stephanie said with a roll of eyes.

"Uh oh"

"He completely blew up at me because I was talking to Jake after he stood me up last night. When I told him why he said it was just an excuse"

"Someone's jealous" Kelsi said with a smile.

"No he isn't. He made that perfectly clear"

"Do you really think he would admit to being jealous Stephanie?" Kelsi asked arching her brow.

"Probably not but I still don't think that is it. I just feel so stupid" Stephanie replied running her hand through her hair.

"Why do you feel stupid?"

"Just forget I said anything" Stephanie replied shaking her head feeling embarrassed.

"Steph I'm your best friend. I'm here to listen so just spit it out" Kelsi said with a laugh.

"Okay. Really early this morning after Paul walked me to the door he went to kiss my cheek and I thought he was going to kiss me. I feel stupid because I think I might have wanted him to and after tonight I was reminded that he is an asshole"

"You shouldn't feel stupid about that. I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner. Do you have feelings for him again Steph?" Kelsi asked staring at her.

"I don't think I do. Trust me after tonight he's an asshole that isn't worth my time. I just thought he was different when he took care of me and was actually nice and I think I was caught up in being grateful to him. But obviously that was a one-time thing"

"I'm sorry Steph. At least you have Jake" Kelsi replied with a smile.

Kelsi was right at least she did have Jake that is if he didn't stand her up again. Why was her love life so complicated?


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this a shorter chapter than usual but I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Paul sat on his couch bouncing his knee anxiously waiting for his call to be answered but it went straight to voicemail yet again. He sighed and ended the call not wanting to leave another voicemail when apparently she just didn't care. After Joanie telling him she might be pregnant he had blurted out how he should care when it probably wasn't even his. She stormed out on him and wouldn't answer his calls since then and he had no idea where she had been staying since she moved out of the apartment. He hadn't meant to be so harsh but the night had been terrible and he hadn't even been thinking because the only thing that had been on his mind was catching up with Stephanie. But as he was trying to catch up with Joanie before she drove off he noticed Stephanie's car was no longer there. That had been a couple of days ago.

"Just relax" Paul heard Shawn say and he looked up to see him coming back into the living room.

"How can I relax? I am possibly going to be a father and I can't get a hold of Joanie and I don't think I'm ready to be a father" Paul said running his hands through his hair feeling stressed out.

"I know but you know how Joanie is when she gets hurt and if she is pregnant and the kid is yours then you don't have a choice of being ready. You will just have to try and be the best father you can be" Shawn replied as Paul nodded his head. He knew Shawn was right but it still scared him shitless thinking about it.

"Any advice on how to get her to talk to me again?"

"You are on your own there" Shawn laughed "I still can't believe you blurted that out"

"I wasn't thinking"

"Apparently" Shawn replied as Paul took a drink of his water. His mind felt like it was all over the place. One minute he was thinking about Joanie and the next minute it was back to Stephanie. Which he had to apologize to somehow tonight because tonight was a big night for them both. It was Armageddon and after tonight him and Stephanie were going to be together even more than they were now and he didn't want her being pissed off at him yet again. He thought maybe they were finally on the way to being friends and he messed that up last night.

"Are you listening to me?" Shawn asked snapping his fingers at Paul.

"Sorry I have a lot on my mind. What were you saying?"

"I was saying Joanie has a match tonight. Well she is supposed to anyway so you should get your chance to talk to her"

"I'm not sure if she will be or not. If she is pregnant then she can't wrestle so she might not be there"

"Well you will find out tonight but you can't sit here and stress about it so come on let's go" Shawn said standing up from the couch and Paul looked at him with a confused look.

"Where are we going?"

"To the gym"

* * *

Later that night Paul dropped his bag on the floor of his dressing room as Shawn flopped down on the couch. Shawn had accompanied him to the arena tonight which he was thankful for. He didn't really feel like being alone after he confronted Joanie if she was there and he had a feeling Stephanie wasn't going to have anything to do with him. The only thing he was looking forward to was his match tonight against Vince.

"I'm going to go find out if Joanie is here" Paul said to Shawn and Shawn nodded his head.

"Try not to blurt out anything to piss her off again" Shawn replied as Paul opened the door and walked out into the hallway closing the door behind him ignoring Shawn. He walked down the hallway in search of Joanie when he noticed Stephanie leaving her father's office and she was alone. It was his opportunity to try and apologize to her and part of him was putting off seeing Joanie. He just wasn't ready to face the fact that he might be a father.

"Steph" Paul called her name as she went to head in the opposite direction of him. She turned around and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"What do you want now Paul?" Stephanie asked crossing her arms as he made his way closer to her. Great she was definitely still pissed off at him.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry" Paul replied putting his hands in his pockets "I had no right to say what I did"

"Yeah you really didn't" Stephanie replied before turning around and started walking off.

"That is all you are going to say?" Paul asked walking after her.

"I don't really want to fight tonight Paul. Here in a little bit I've got to go out there and pretend to like you and it's going to be hard if I'm even more pissed off at you" Stephanie replied as they reached the door to her dressing room.

"How can I possibly start a fight and piss you off even more when I'm trying to apologize?"

"You'll find a way"

"I'm not trying to purposely piss you off Steph. Let me explain please" Paul said but then quickly tried to think of how he could explain. There was no way he could just come out and tell her that he had been thinking about her lately and was jealous. He had already denied that claim when she made it that night.

"I think you made yourself perfectly clear the night you went off on me" Stephanie replied opening her dressing room door and walking in as he followed her.

"I was upset Steph. I didn't mean the things I said"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have said anything at all. I have no idea why you got so upset in the first place because it had nothing to do with you"

"You just…deserved better than being stood up and I didn't believe the reason he gave you but you're right, it's none of my business. I just don't want to see you get hurt like that again" Paul explained watching her as she looked down at the floor.

"I've got through it before Paul" Stephanie replied raising her head and looking back at him. "I appreciate the concern but I can deal with whatever happens"

"Okay" Paul said with a shrug not really knowing what else to say. He had apologized so it was left up to her to forgive him or not.

"Here I forgot to give you this the last time we spoke" Stephanie said grabbing his leather jacket off the back of her couch and handed it to him. He had forgot about it with everything that had happened in the last couple of days.

"Thanks"

"No problem. I've got to get going though. I have some things to do before the match tonight"

"Okay" Paul said feeling confused as to if she forgave him or not.

"I'll see you later tonight" Stephanie replied before leaving the dressing room. That had not gone how he had expected but at least she talked to him and he had got to apologize. Now he had to go see if he could find Joanie.

* * *

As soon as they entered the backstage from what Stephanie considered the best match of the night Paul immediately left her heading in the direction of Shawn who was waiting backstage. It was a little strange to her how he acted as if he wanted away from her as quickly as possible but she brushed it off. Besides she was still a little irritated at him and she was feeling excited from the crowd's reaction when she turned on her father. At first she had hated the idea of working this storyline at all and now she was couldn't wait for tomorrow night.

"You were great" Jake said as Stephanie headed towards him with a smile on her face. He had showed up and waited backstage for her so they could finally go out on the date he promised her.

"Thanks but I didn't really do anything" Stephanie replied with a laugh.

"I still think you were great. So are you ready for me to take you out?"

"Yes I just need to grab my purse from my dressing room" Stephanie said turning toward the direction of her dressing room when she caught Paul staring at them and he nodded at them politely before he turning his attention back to Shawn. At least he wasn't going to make a scene like he did last time.

* * *

"So Paul is the name of the guy you are in a storyline with?" Jake asked as Stephanie chewed her food and nodded her head. Jake had taken her to a pretty nice restaurant and they had been sitting and talking about Aiden and now her job.

"On screen it's Triple H" Stephanie replied once she swallowed her food. She hoped they would get off the subject of Paul soon considering she didn't want to talk about her ex to her potential boyfriend.

"This is going to be awkward but…"

"But what?" Stephanie asked curiously as he laughed slightly.

"I don't have anything to worry about with him, do I?" Jake asked seeming embarrassed for asking.

"God no" Stephanie laughed "What made you think you would?"

"It just looked like you two had some chemistry tonight"

"There is nothing there. You don't have to worry about that" Stephanie replied leaving out how her and Paul used to date and that he was Aiden's dad. It wasn't something she wanted to talk about on a first date but if things did progress between them she would definitely tell him. "If we continue to see each other will having to see me kiss another guy get in the way?"

"It will be awkward but it's your job so it shouldn't be a problem" Jake replied before taking a drink of his water.

"Good" Stephanie said with a smile and he smiled back at her.

"What do you like to do when you're not working?" Jake asked getting off the subject of her job thank God because it was awkward having to talk about Paul.

"My life revolves around Aiden when I'm not working. It's us just usually watching his favorite movies or playing with his toys. Sometimes we will go out to the park or over to my friend Kelsi's. Aiden loves her to death, she's like an aunt to him. I got pregnant with Aiden when I was in college and Kelsi was there for us"

"She sounds like a great friend. So where is Aiden tonight?"

"He is staying with my mom"

"Do you ever bring him with you to the arena?"

"No" Stephanie replied shaking her head.

"Why not?" Jake asked curiously.

"I would rather wait until he is older before he even watches wrestling" Stephanie replied telling partly the truth. "Enough about me. What do you like to do?"

"My life is quite boring compared to yours" Jake replied with a laugh. "but I like to travel and usually when I'm not working I'll go out of town or hang out with my friends. It's usually hanging out with Shane and Marissa lately and then coming to see you" Jake said making Stephanie blush a little.

"How is your mom doing by the way?"

"She is doing better. She's still pretty sore but I'm just glad she is okay"

"Me too" Stephanie said as their waiter came by clearing their plates they were done with.

"I've had a great night with you but it's getting late and you probably are exhausted"

"I am pretty exhausted" Stephanie replied as Jake stood up from the table and extended his hand out to her to help her up from her seat.

"How about I drive you back to get your car and we'll set another date where we can have more time with each other next time"

"Sounds good"

After they arrived back at the arena to her car Jake walked her to her car. Tonight had been a pretty great night for her and she was glad that Jake so far was a good guy. She had been a little worried after the night Paul and her got into that fight and he told her Jake was just making an excuse. But thankfully she didn't give in and listen to him.

"I'm free this weekend if you want to go out again this weekend" Jake said as Stephanie unlocked her car.

"We can try for this weekend" Stephanie replied turning back around to face him.

"Okay just call me and let me know if you can or not"

"I will"

"Thank you for giving me a second chance and for a great night" Stephanie smiled before he came closer to her and leaned in to kiss her. She closed her eyes as their lips met and quickly felt disappointment as she felt nothing. Once the kiss ended Stephanie just smiled at him not knowing what else to do. Jake opened her door for her and she climbed in ready to leave because now she just felt awkward.

"I'll talk to you later"

"Goodnight Stephanie" Jake replied shutting her door and she watched as he made his way to his car. After he was gone Stephanie just sat in her car feeling confused. She had really liked him but she didn't understand why she hadn't felt anything towards him when he kissed her. Was there something wrong with her? Stephanie sighed before grabbing her purse and got out her cellphone and dialed her best friend's number hoping she wasn't asleep just yet.

"Hello"

"Were you asleep?" Stephanie asked hoping she hadn't woken her up.

"Not yet. What's up?"

"I had my date with Jake tonight"

"How was it?" Kelsi asked with excitement in her voice.

"It was great up until he kissed me"

"Was he a bad kisser?"

"No he's was a good kisser I just didn't feel anything between us" Stephanie replied drumming her fingers against the steering wheel.

"I'm confused. I thought you really liked him"

"Well that makes two of us. I don't get it I would smile at the mention of his name and anytime I would hear his voice but after he kissed me it just felt awkward. I have no idea what to do considering he wants to take me on another date this weekend"

"I don't know Steph. You could try going back out with him"

"I'm not sure that is going to change anything Kelsi"

"Don't hate me for what I'm about to say but…does this have anything to do with Paul?"

"No" Stephanie answered quickly shutting that idea down.

"Are you sure? Because you wanted him to kiss you just a couple of days ago and now suddenly you are not that into Jake"

"It has nothing to do with Paul"

"Steph…"

"That was over a long time ago" Stephanie sighed frustrated "Maybe I just didn't like Jake as much as I thought I did"

"Maybe" Kelsi replied in an unconvinced tone of voice.

"Well thanks for the talk. I'm going to go I've got to drive back to the hotel and you know I don't like talking while driving"

"Your welcome. Be careful" Kelsi replied before Stephanie ended the call and put the cellphone back in her purse. She had no idea why the one time she found a good guy she ended up not feeling anything for him. Maybe it was just a sign that she wasn't ready to get back out there and date just yet.

* * *

The music was loud and obnoxious but the more he drank, the less he cared. Paul wasn't into drinking but tonight had been a hell of a night for him and it was Shawn's last night with him and he had wanted to come to this club. He couldn't turn him down on his last night here and especially after he finally talked to Joanie and found out that it just had been a scare and she hadn't been pregnant. Part of him wondered if it had even been a scare at all and she had sunk low enough to try and tell him she was pregnant to weasel her way back into his life somehow. But honestly at this point he didn't care, he just felt relieved. His mind was completely freed of that stress but now he was trying to clear of his mind of something else, or should he say someone else. Tonight after kissing Stephanie he finally realized he was starting to fall for her and that wasn't good at all. He knew he would end up hurt at the end of it all because Stephanie would never feel the same way about him. Not after he screwed up the first time with her. She would never give him another chance so the best course of action from here was to stay far away from her as possible until they had to be on screen together. Maybe after some time he would get over these feelings for her.

"This is my friend Paul" Paul heard Shawn and looked up to see him with a really attractive brunette. Her hair was in waves that reached past her shoulders and she had really beautiful blue eyes. She actually reminded him of Stephanie. As soon as he thought came to him he wanted to kick himself.

"Hi I'm Mandy" she shouted over the music extending her hand out to him and Paul shook her hand.

"Mandy is newly single" Shawn shouted and then wiggled his eyebrows. Paul wanted to roll his eyes at Shawn for trying to get him with this girl but then again maybe Shawn had the right idea.

"Let's get you a drink" Paul said to Mandy and Shawn smiled at him before heading away from them.


	7. Chapter 7

Stephanie stared down at the papers in front of her trying to make sense of them but she felt too exhausted to try and concentrate. The one morning she actually felt like sleeping in didn't happen as Aiden had decided to wake up early with so much energy she felt like she couldn't keep up. After eating breakfast this morning and playing with Aiden she had sit down to drink a cup of coffee while he went to play in his room. She had decided to try and do some work while she drank her coffee but it was just pointless. Her mind kept drifting off to other things she just didn't want to think about and she just wanted to close her eyes just for a second. Stephanie sighed and looked over at the clock on the wall to notice she had actually been sitting there for an hour. That was when she realized that she hadn't heard a peep from Aiden and with how hyper he had been earlier that was not a good sign. Getting up from the table she walked through the living room and into the hallway to Aiden's room.

"Aiden Michael!"

"What?" Aiden asked innocently dropping the crayon he held onto the floor. Stephanie stared at the now crayon covered wall before closing her eyes to keep herself from trying not to get too mad.

"How did you get the crayons?" Stephanie asked opening her eyes and looking at him. She always kept them put up until he wanted to color and she could supervise him or things like this happened.

"They were in my bag"

"What bag?"

"This one" Aiden said holding up the bag Stephanie packed for him to take to Linda's yesterday. After they had arrived home last night Stephanie had forgotten that she had packed his coloring book and crayons. So technically it was her fault that he had got a hold of them. It didn't help that she was still upset about it though.

"Come with me" Stephanie replied sternly and motioned for him to get up.

"Why?"

"Because you are going to go sit on the couch. You are in time out"

"Why?" Aiden whined without getting up from the floor.

"You colored on the wall" Stephanie replied crossing her arms.

"I didn't color. I drawed" Stephanie shook her head at him.

"That sounds like something your fath… just go sit on the couch. Now" Stephanie replied as Aiden got up from the floor and ran out of the room. "No running"

Stephanie turned back to the wall and observed how much of it he had covered. This was going to be a pain to get off but right now she just wanted to clean up the crayons off the floor and get them put up so he couldn't do it again. Once she had made sure she got on the crayons she headed back into the living room when she noticed Aiden was watching tv.

"Aiden"

"What?" Aiden asked as he kept watching the tv.

"I told you that you were in time out"

"I'm on the couch" Aiden replied as she went over and flipped the tv off.

"Time out doesn't mean just sitting on the couch. You know that" Stephanie said as she went over to the couch and took the remote from him. She went over back over to the kitchen table and sat down putting the crayons and remote beside of her. Today was already turning out to be stressful and she had no idea why Aiden was acting this way. Usually he listened to her but it seemed like he was developing a little bit of an attitude today. Picking up her cup of coffee and taking a sip to find out that it had went cold she got up from the table to pour it out and make another cup but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey" Shane greeted her when she opened the door.

"Hey" Stephanie smiled weakly at him then stepped aside for him to come in.

"You don't look so good" Shane said following her into the kitchen. She poured out her coffee and poured a fresh cup.

"I am completely frustrated and exhausted" Stephanie replied taking a sip of her coffee and leaned against the counter.

"What's wrong? Did something happen on your date last night?"

"Not really. I just couldn't sleep good last night and Aiden woke up pretty early then decided to color no wait he said 'draw' on his bedroom wall" Stephanie said as Shane started laughing. "It's not funny Shane"

"Where is he now?"

"In time out" Stephanie replied nodding her head to the living room.

"It happens Steph. Don't stress out about" Shane said with a shrug.

"You don't have to clean it up though and it's just not that he drew on the wall. He got a little bit of an attitude with me and then he sat on the couch and started watching tv"

"Well did you tell him he couldn't watch tv?"

"Is he learning this from you" Stephanie asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"No but if you didn't say he couldn't then- "

"He knows he is not allowed to watch tv when he is in time out" Stephanie replied sitting up from the counter and heading back to the table to sit down.

"I'll help you clean it up if it will take some of the stress off" Shane said sitting down at the table next to her.

"Thanks" Stephanie smiled at him.

"So how was your date last night?" Shane asked taking her cup of coffee from her and stealing a drink.

"It was fine"

"That doesn't sound very promising" She really didn't want to talk about it but she didn't really know how to get around the subject. The last thing she needed was Shane asking questions and trying to tell her what a good guy Jake was because she already knew that and she was trying to understand why last night she felt nothing when he kissed her. Stephanie looked at Shane trying to think of something to say as he stared at her but luckily she started hearing something in the living room.

"Aiden what are you doing?" Stephanie asked getting up from the table feeling relieved for the distraction. When she made into the living room Aiden was jumping on the couch.

"Nothing" Aiden called not noticing that she was in the living room with him.

"Sit down" Stephanie said sternly and he looked up at her. He just smiled at her and kept jumping. "Aiden!"

"Aiden!" Shane shouted from the table and Aiden immediately sat back down on the couch.

"I really have no idea what has got into him. How did you do that?" Stephanie asked sitting back down at the table with Shane and he shrugged.

"Maybe you should let me watch him for a while when you have to go to the arena. He's been with mom lately and she lets him get away with everything"

"You are just as bad of a push over as mom" Stephanie laughed.

"I'm a little stricter than mom. Besides he needs some male bonding and well me and dad are his only male figures because that bastard walked out"

"Shane, mouth" Stephanie scolded him.

"I can't help it. It makes me angry every time I think about the guy. I don't understand how he could claim that Aiden wasn't his and just walk away with no sense of responsibility"

"I don't know"

"I still don't understand why you never proved to him that Aiden wasn't his"

"Even if I did Shane that didn't mean he was suddenly going to be in Aiden's life or be a good dad" Stephanie replied feeling guilty. The reason she couldn't prove anything was because the guy she told her family was Aiden's dad was a completely fictitious man and his real dad didn't even know he existed. She had told her family that she had started dating a guy she met in one of her classes and then he broke up with her after she told him she was pregnant. Then the lies just kept going from there.

"You're right. He is better off without him but sometimes I wish he had more than just me and dad because he needs an actual father"

"I wish he had a father too but you and dad are doing just fine as the male figures in his life" Stephanie replied giving him a smile and reached over giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She felt bad for lying to them about Aiden's dad but it was for the best because if they ever found out, they would be pissed. Not just at her for lying to them but for who Aiden's father really was and Paul would probably get a worse punishment than hers. She didn't want that even though she was still irritated at him because she was growing closer to him whether she wanted to admit it or not.

* * *

Paul rolled over stretching out his arm to find the spot beside of him on the bed was empty and he couldn't help but feel relieved. The last thing he remembered was talking to some brunette girl at the club Shawn had wanted to go to last night. He didn't usually drink and last night well he went overboard and was feeling the effects from it now.

"Good morning" Shawn shouted opening his bedroom door as Paul winced and pulled his pillow over his head to try and drown him out.

"Get out"

"What was that? Shout a little bit louder? Okay" Shawn shouted the last word at him.

"I'm going to kill you if you keep shouting at me" Paul replied removing the pillow and opening his eyes to the bright sunlight filling his room.

"Remind me to never let you drink you again"

"Don't worry I don't plan on it" Paul replied sitting up in the bed running his hands through his hair.

"It would have probably been better if I could have got drunk too but I had to drive us home so I was left listening to you babble on all night"

"Well it couldn't have been as bad as I feel right now"

"Want to bet?" Shawn asked with a laugh "I was kind of proud of you last night because you started flirting with this brunette girl and I really thought you were going to bring her back with you"

"I didn't?" Paul asked looking over at him.

"No. I think you would have but you pissed her off. You kept calling her Steph and she would correct you but then you would just do it again. After a while you started going on and on about Stephanie telling this pretty hot girl that Stephanie was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen. You started describing the way she looked and the way she made you feel when you kissed her. That was about the time the brunette left and then I was stuck listening to you go on and on about Stephanie all the way home"

"You're lying" Paul replied and rolled his eyes.

"Oh God I wish that weren't true because then I might have been able to enjoy myself last night" Shawn replied shaking his head as if he were trying to rid himself of the memory. "I was right though"

"About what?"

"You are in love with Stephanie"

"I am not in love with Stephanie" Paul replied grabbing his pillow and slinging it at Shawn.

"You can't deny it now" Shawn replied throwing the pillow back at him.

"Can you just leave so I can get dressed?" Paul asked "I really need to get up and get something to relieve the throbbing pain in my head"

"Fine but this conversation isn't over" Shawn replied wagging his finger at him before he left the bedroom.

Paul stood up from the bed and went over to his closet pulling out a shirt and pair of pants. He couldn't believe that he had talked about Stephanie all night but of course it was just his luck that he did. She had been on his mind when he started drinking so it only made sense that it happened. He just wished it wouldn't have happened when Shawn was there to rub it in his face that he had been right and then right after he will probably go into all the reasons why he can't be with Stephanie. Well he didn't need Shawn explaining that to him because he was smart enough to figure all of that out last night on his own. Maybe if he hadn't left Stephanie all of those years ago for fucking Joanie then it might be different. Who was he kidding, it wouldn't be any different because she was the boss's daughter.

When he was finally dressed Paul left his bedroom and headed to the bathroom to find something to help with his headache. His head felt like it was killing him more now than it had earlier. After he found some Tylenol he headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water hoping that Shawn would at least wait to hound him until he got some relief from his head. That didn't seem like it was going to happen though as he grabbed a bottle of water and looked over at Shawn who had hopped up on the counter beside of the refrigerator eating a sandwich.

"When did it happen?" Shawn asked not even waiting until he swallowed the bite of food he had taken.

"I'm not sure" Paul replied before putting the Tylenol in his mouth and took a drink of water to wash them down.

"Bullshit"

"Okay fine maybe I realized it the night after she got drunk. Maybe I did before that and didn't realize it but it doesn't matter Shawn"

"Why doesn't it?" Shawn asked with a confused expression. The question surprised Paul because he was expecting to come out here and Shawn lecture him about the reasons he couldn't have feelings for Stephanie.

"Besides the fact that I just stopped talking to her the first time I 'dated' her and she will never forgive me for that, she is the boss's daughter"

"That didn't stop you the first time" Shawn pointed out before taking another bite of his food.

"Yeah well I was immature back then and I wasn't thinking"

"You still are" Shawn laughed and Paul flipped him off "but you probably are right about her not forgiving you about the first time"

"I know I'm right. I mean even if she wasn't the boss's daughter I can't just go up to her and be like hey Steph I'm sorry I left you high and dry the last time but would you want to go on a date with me"

"She would probably smack you" Shawn laughed and Paul couldn't help but laugh with him because he knew he was right. He could just picture it in his head.

"Why aren't you lecturing me about this?"

"You sound like you have it all figured out for yourself. I just wanted to hear you admit you were in love with her" Shawn said with a shrug.

"I have feelings for her but I'm not in love with her"

"I'll still take it. So what are you going to do?"

"Try to stay away from her as much as possible I guess. I haven't figured it out yet"

"Well you will just have to call me and let me know how that goes. I've got to start packing for my flight later" Shawn said sliding down off the counter leaving Paul thinking about how exactly he was going to avoid being around Stephanie.

* * *

Later that night Paul arrived at the arena feeling nervous about tonight since it tonight he would be around her a lot just for their storyline. This was going to be harder than he originally thought it was going to be. He walked inside the building and started to his dressing room ignoring Joanie as he passed her. She didn't even attempt to talk to him and he was glad for that because he had enough to try and deal with tonight. Arriving at his door Paul turned the doorknob and walked in to see Stephanie sitting on the couch.

"Hey" Stephanie greeted him with a smile.

"Hey" Paul replied "I wasn't expecting to see you"

"Well we do work together and we have that thing called a storyline" Stephanie replied with a chuckle but he just stood there feeling confused. The last time they had talked she hadn't seemed to forgive him so as far as he knew she was still mad at him but yet here she was joking with him.

"I meant I wasn't expecting to see you in my dressing room" Paul said leaning up against the wall. He would of went to sit down on the couch next to her but he really need to keep some kind of space between them.

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to leave?" Stephanie asked and he really didn't know what to say because part of him wanted her to stay there and the other wanted to be far away from her until necessary. "Paul are you okay? You're acting…weird"

"I'm fine" Paul replied giving her a small smile.

"Then come over here and sit down" Stephanie said patting the seat next to her. Okay he could do that he just needed to make sure not to flirt or joke in a flirting way and he was sure he could his emotions in check. If he kept acting weird Stephanie was going to figure out that something was up with him. He didn't want to let her know he had feelings for her because then things could be awkward between them.

"So were you wanting to talk to me?" Paul asked sitting down beside of her on the couch.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay"

"Yeah. What would make you think I wasn't?"

"Well last night you ran away pretty fast and it was kind of weird" Stephanie replied tucking her hair behind her ears while he thought of an excuse.

"It was Shawn's last night here and he was wanting to go out. I was just in a hurry to go out and celebrate last night and the fact that I'm not going to be a father"

"Wait. What?" Stephanie asked with a confused expression. He had forgot that Stephanie didn't know that part because they hadn't really talked since they fought. It wasn't as if he really discussed his personal life with her to begin with though.

"Joanie thought she might be pregnant. I found out last night it was just a false alarm and was so relieved that I actually got drunk last night" Paul replied leaving out that he also got drunk because he was trying to forget her. What good that did him though.

"Oh" Stephanie said with an expression he couldn't quite read before she turned her head away quickly.

"Could you imagine me as a dad?" Paul asked shaking his head.

"What would be so wrong with you being a dad?" Stephanie asked glancing back at him.

"Did you want her to be pregnant or something?" Paul asked with a small laugh.

"No. I guess I just don't see what would be so wrong if you did have a child" Stephanie replied with a shrug.

"I'm just not ready. I have so much I want to do before I even think about having a kid plus I kind of have to have someone for that and I don't have any takers. Well none that I would want anyway but besides that I'm just on the road too much to be a real father and hell sometimes I still act like a kid myself" Paul explained watching her nod her head and open her mouth as if she were going to say something but then she stopped when they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" Paul called looking at the door as it opened and Shane appeared.

"What are you doing here?" Stephanie asked looking at Shane.

"I went to your dressing room and couldn't find you so I thought you would be here"

"No I didn't mean in here. I meant what are you doing at the arena at all"

"Uh I'm part of the storyline tonight" Shane replied looking at her if she were crazy while Paul just sat there feeling confused about why it mattered that Shane was there.

"Then why earlier did you offer…. can I talk you outside?" Stephanie asked getting up from the couch and didn't give Shane a chance to answer as she pushed him outside to the hallway. Paul sat there feeling confused as he heard them argue outside of the door. He couldn't really understand what they were saying but they must have started moving away from his door because soon he wasn't able to hear their voices. Paul shrugged it off and decided to go get something to drink. He found it funny though the fact that she said he was acting weird but suddenly she ended up being the one acting strange.

Paul walked down the hallway not seeing Shane or Stephanie anywhere. It was probably a good thing; he was starting to feel nervous about kissing her tonight. There was no way he was going to be able to avoid his feelings for her so hopefully their storyline together wouldn't last long or he was in trouble. Once Paul made it to his destination he grabbed a bottle of water and open it to take a drink. He stood there getting lost in thought about maybe talking to Vince and convincing him to go another way in the storyline that he didn't even notice someone trying to talk to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Paul asked turning around to see Shane.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked giving him a concerned look.

"I'm fine. I was just coming up with some ideas" Paul replied "so what was that argument with Stephanie about?"

"She forgot that I had to be here tonight and well I offered to spend time with Aiden. I had to bring him here with me and she's not too happy about that"

"Aiden? Is that the guy she has been seeing because I thought it was something else?"

"Wow. You two really don't talk about your personal life do you?" Shane asked with a laugh.

"Not really. So who is Aiden?"

"He's- "

"Shane! Shane!" a voice shouted and soon Paul seen a little blonde hair boy run up to Shane.

"What are you doing? You are supposed to be with Marissa" Shane said bending down and picking him up.

"She said I could find you"

"Did she really say you could come and find me?" Shane asked him and he nodded his head. "Okay well I do have someone who wants to meet you"

"Who?" Aiden asked and Shane pointed to Paul who smiled at the little boy. He was cute, he actually resembled him as a kid.

"Why don't you tell him your name"

"Aiden Michael"

"That's a cool name. My middle name is Michael"

"Huh. I didn't even realize that until now" Shane replied and then looked back at Aiden. "You have the same middle name as Paul. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah" Aiden said excitedly and nodded his head.

"Anyway Paul this is Aiden as you know now. He's Stephanie's son" Shane said and Paul froze.

"No way" Paul replied shaking his head in disbelief feeling his heart pound hard against his chest and it felt as if his world had come to a crashing halt. "She would have had to….in college"

"She got pregnant in college" Shane laughed at Paul trying to get his words out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just shocked I guess" Paul replied swallowing the lump in his throat. He felt like he was going to be sick or pass out. "I've got to go. I'll see you later"

He didn't even wait for Shane's response as his walked away ignoring people as he passed them.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for the reviews! I'm sorry it took so long to get this next chapter up but I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

Staring at the door in front of her for what seemed like an eternity Stephanie finally raised her hand and gave a gentle knock. The anxiety rising in her chest with every passing second that she waited but honestly she had been filled with anxiety all night because she was afraid that Paul might have heard her conversation with Shane earlier outside the dressing room. Although he shouldn't have heard too much really because she had dragged Shane to her dressing room to finish arguing about the reasons why Aiden should not be at the arena. That had been frustrating enough and then when she went back to talk to Paul he was acting even stranger than he had been before she left.

"If you're looking for your boyfriend he's already gone" Stephanie rolled her eyes and looked down the hallway to see Joanie heading towards her.

"He's not my boyfriend" Stephanie replied shaking her head and turning to leave the building. There was no way she was dealing with Joanie right now. She had too many other things to deal with and probably getting her ass kicked was one she would rather avoid. It was hard to try and bite her tongue when it came to Joanie when she was calm so there was no telling what she might say since she was already pretty worked up.

"You're going to get him fired you know" Joanie called behind her but Stephanie kept walking avoiding saying anything and headed outside to her car.

Once she arrived at her car and unlocked the doors she got inside quickly. She laid her head against the headrest closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Then she broke down and started crying, finally letting everything she had been feeling all night out. It was the only relief she was probably going to get tonight considering she couldn't talk to Paul because he had already left and she didn't have his phone number. She did know where he lived but she couldn't just show up at his apartment, that would be too weird. It probably would look like she was trying to stalk him or something and she had to hurry and pick Aiden up from Shane and Marissa's house.

Stephanie wiped the tears from her eyes and took another breath before starting the car and driving out of the parking lot. If Shane thought their argument from earlier was over well, he was dead wrong. He better be prepared for round two when she got there.

* * *

When Stephanie arrived at Shane and Marissa's house she made her way to their door quickly and rang the doorbell. She could feel her hands shaking from her nerves still but right now the emotion she was solely focused on was anger. The whole way over all she could think about was how she could trust anyone to watch Aiden now without bringing him to the arena.

"Hey" Marissa greeted her opening the door for Stephanie to come inside. She didn't say anything as she stepped inside and immediately headed off to find Shane. It didn't take her long because she spotted him on the couch in the living room watching a movie with Aiden.

"Shane what the hell is wrong with you?" Stephanie asked stepping in front of the tv.

"Oh mommy said a bad word" Aiden said in a sing song voice.

"Yes she did and we do not repeat that word okay?" Shane asked and Aiden nodded his head.

"Kitchen. Now" Stephanie demanded and headed towards the kitchen away from Aiden. He didn't need to hear any other bad language that might come out of her mouth and he didn't need to hear them fighting.

"What was that about?" Shane asked as Stephanie leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms.

"Why would you bring him to the arena?"

"I thought we were done fighting about that? I thought it was resolved and we were moving on from it. I don't get what the big deal is" Shane replied with a shrug.

"I don't want him at the arena. Ever. He's too young and I don't need him picking up language from the wrestlers in the back or learning these wrestling moves that could potentially get him hurt"

"I didn't let him watch any of the wrestling Steph and the only wrestler he met was Paul. He didn't use any bad language around him so I think one visit isn't going to hurt" At that moment she felt the blood drain from her face and she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe, like she was suffocating. Her heart racing against her chest so hard that it began to hurt. "Steph. Steph. Are you okay?"

"I... I…I'm fine" Stephanie replied breathlessly clutching her chest as tears pricked her eyes. Her legs beginning to feel like they were going to give out on her at any moment and she begin to wonder if she actually was okay.

"Here. Here. Sit down" Shane instructed pulling a kitchen chair out and placing it beside of her. She felt Shane's hands on her shoulder's as she sat down on the chair and stared at the ground. He knew. That was the only thing running through her mind at the moment and now she had her answer. It was exactly the reason he had been acting distant and quiet towards her all night. Why hadn't he told her he knew about Aiden? "Steph you don't look so good"

"Just give me a minute" Stephanie replied trying to slow her breathing down and try to focus on something other than her thoughts.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"A water please" Stephanie replied as she closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing.

"Here" Shane said as she opened her eyes and took the bottle of water from him. She opened it and started taking small sips. Her stomach was in knots and she felt nauseous. It was probably worse now than it was when she had her hangover.

"Thank you" Stephanie replied feeling a little better than she had been. Her heart felt like it was still beating fast but not nearly as fast as it had been and the pain in her chest was subsiding.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better"

"I was so worried. You were so pale and the way you were holding your chest…. Do you need to go to the emergency room?"

"I'm fine Shane, really. I'm just feeling a lot of stress and tonight just didn't help" It was partly the truth at least. She really couldn't come out and tell him she was freaking out because Paul knew about Aiden.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have put more stress on you. I had no idea you were stressing out this bad" Shane said with an apologetic face. "Listen maybe you should ask dad for some time off. Just the next couple of days"

"Maybe" Stephanie agreed with a shrug. Honestly it sounded like a good idea because at the moment she was scared shitless to face Paul again but then again she felt like it was running away from her problems and she certainly couldn't run away from this one.

"I really am sorry" She knew he meant it and even though she was still mad at him she knew it was best to let it go for the moment. She definitely didn't want to feel the way she had earlier all over again.

"So what…. happened when Aiden and Paul met?" Stephanie asked curiously before taking another sip of her water and tried to remain as calm as she could. She needed to know his reaction because maybe there was a chance he hadn't put two and two together.

"Nothing much really" Shane replied with a shrug "They introduced themselves to each other and bonded a little over the fact they had the same middle name. I can't believe you didn't tell him about Aiden"

"It's my personal business. Nobody needs to know about my life"

"Yeah but you two seemed to be getting a little closer lately"

"Did anything else happen?"

"Not really. Paul seemed shocked when he found out that Aiden was your son and then he said he had to go. It was kind of weird" Shane said as Stephanie took another drink of her water. So it sounded as if maybe Paul had put two and two together or maybe he was just shocked that she did have a child and he was upset that she never mentioned it to him. She knew the latter wasn't true as soon as she thought it though.

"I think he was just shocked that I didn't tell him I had a son" Stephanie replied trying to make sure Shane didn't start wondering why Paul had acted weird.

"So is everything okay in here?" Marissa asked stepping into the kitchen.

"Yeah everything is fine. I'm sorry I stormed in without saying anything I was still pissed off at Shane" Stephanie replied giving her a small smile.

"It's fine. Once you stepped inside I could tell you were pissed so I backed off" Marissa said with a laugh.

"Thanks for coming to my aide" Shane replied and Marissa stuck out her tongue at him. After that Stephanie tuned them out as she started thinking about doing what Shane had said and asking her dad for a couple of days off. It probably wasn't the best decision but she wasn't ready to face her consequences.

* * *

Paul jumped when he heard a loud honking noise behind him and realized he had been sitting at a stop sign for a good three minutes at least. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts as he started driving again. Everything from tonight seemed like a blur and he was surprised he was even able to remember his lines and get through Raw. He had barely said two words to Stephanie that wasn't related storyline wise. She had tried talking to him but he hadn't paid attention to anything she had said because he was still in shock. He felt disconnected from reality, like he was in some kind of dream he couldn't wake up from. If only it were a dream because he wasn't ready for this and he had no idea what he was even supposed to do.

Pulling into the parking lot of his apartment building he shut the car off and just sat there staring out of the car at nothing in particular. He was just trying to think of what his next move should be because there wasn't any way he was just going to pretend the kid didn't exist. After a few minutes Paul got out of the car and pulled out his cellphone on the way inside his apartment building. There was one person who could maybe give him some advice.

"Hello" Shawn answered.

"Were you asleep?" Paul asked getting into the elevator and pushing the button to his floor.

"No not yet. What's up?"

"I'm a dad- "

"Woah I thought Joanie said she wasn't pregnant"

"Do you always have to interrupt?" Paul asked chuckling softly "She's not pregnant. I'm a father to a child with Stephanie"

"Okay well if Stephanie is pregnant there is no way the kid could be yours considering you two haven't had sex in forever. You do realize that, right?" Shawn asked with a laugh.

"No Stephanie isn't pregnant. I mean she was a couple of years ago obviously but I met the kid tonight. He looks like me and she gave him the same middle name as mine. Shane said she got pregnant in college- "

"Woah. Woah. Are you absolutely sure? It could be some other guys that she met in college"

"I'm like ninety-five percent sure" Paul replied opening the door to his apartment and heading over to the couch to sit down. Shawn could be right but he had feeling that the kid was his considering how much Stephanie hated him in the beginning of their storyline. Also how hurt she still was over the fact that he had left her without ever saying anything.

"Did you ask her?" Shawn asked in a confused tone.

"No. I've been in shock pretty much since I found out. I've been completely lost in my own thoughts and as soon as Raw ended I…ran"

"Smooth" Shawn replied with a sigh.

"Hey I'm terrified here. It's the only emotion I have at the moment even though I should be really pissed off" Paul said running a hand through his hair.

"What you actually should be doing right now is talking to Stephanie" Just the thought of looking at her right now made him feel sick, at least it was something other than terrified. How could she keep something like this from him for so long? The longer he thought about it he started to feel the anger start to finally kick in.

"I don't think I can right now"

"You're going to have to at some point. She's the only one with the answers and if the kid is yours then don't you want to try and be a father to him?"

"If I can" Paul said leaning his head against the back of the couch and closing his eyes. He was really feeling stressed out and Shawn couldn't really help him as much as he hoped considering he knew just as much as he did. "What if she won't let me be a part of his life? I don't know anything about kids. What if I'm a horrible father and I can't do it?"

"The first question Stephanie can only answer and for your second question well that is something you are going to have to figure out for yourself. Don't try and be a part of his life if you are going to just walk out when things get too hard because trust me it will get hard"

"I wouldn't walk out on him" That he was one hundred percent sure on.

"Listen you need to get off the phone with me and talk to her"

"I don't know her number Shawn"

"No but you took her home after she was hungover and you know where she lives"

"It's late. She's probably already in bed"

"Stop making excuses Paul. I know you're scared but you also have questions that are going to sit and bug you all night until you get the answers. All you have to do is go drive by her place and if there are no lights on then just drive back home but you need to do something" Paul let out a sigh knowing Shawn was right. He could just drive by her place but if she was up how would he even start the conversation and how was he supposed to stay calm?

"I guess I could drive by her house" Paul said getting up off the couch and started heading back out of his apartment.

"Call and fill me in on the details tomorrow"

"I will" Paul replied before ending the call. As he entered the elevator he started feeling nervous once again but Shawn was right. If he didn't do something tonight, then it would eat at him all night and he wouldn't get any sleep. He just hoped that if Stephanie was still awake she would open the door for him.

* * *

After passing by her house for the fifth time, he turned the car back around and decided it was time to actually pull into the driveway. The lights in her house were on so he was pretty sure she was awake which was surprising for how late it was. He was trying to calm his nerves but just passing by her house wasn't really doing anything to help. Making his way back to her house he actually pulled into her driveway this time and shut the car off. After a few seconds he stepped out of the car and made his way to the front door and gently knocked. His heart was pounding away at his chest as he waited impatiently for the door to be answered. It only took a minute or two until he heard the door being unlocked and then the door opened. She looked scared as soon as she seen him.

"Are you going to invite me in?" Paul asked staring at her. He wanted to start off with something that wouldn't immediately piss her off and once he was inside well, she couldn't slam the door in his face when she did get pissed off.

"Come in" Stephanie replied almost breathlessly stepping aside. When he was inside she shut the door behind him as he stood beside of her kitchen table trying to think of how to start this conversation.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm here" Paul said after clearing his throat and trying to remain as calm as he could.

"I think I know why" Stephanie confessed looking down at the floor.

"So is the ki- is he mine?" Paul asked staring at her but she kept her eyes on the floor and kept silent. The longer she remained quiet the more he started to feel angry. "Stephanie is he mine?"

"Yes" Stephanie admitted choking on a sob. She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks. He shook his head and crossed his arms looking away from her.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Paul asked looking back over at her and she shook her head at him "Really? You don't want to give me an explanation?"

"I tried" Stephanie replied wiping the tears from her face but it did no good as more continued to fall.

"Really? When?" Paul asked raising his voice slightly.

"When I found out I was pregnant but you didn't answer me. I left a voicemail begging you to call me but you never did"

"I never got that voicemail and you knew where I worked. You could of came and told me in person"

"Why? So I could watch you walk away?" Stephanie asked with her voice now raising slightly.

"I wouldn't have walked away. You had every opportunity to tell me, hell you could have even told me when this fucking storyline started" He was getting angrier by the second it was as if she were trying to piss him off but he was trying to keep his temper under control.

"The moment I found out I was pregnant and you wouldn't call me back I just started trying to figure out how exactly I was going to take care of a baby and get through college. I couldn't worry about you anymore when I had someone way more important to worry about" Stephanie replied going over to the kitchen table and pulling out a chair to sit down.

"But I could have been there to help you. What is your excuse for not telling me here recently huh?"

"Maybe because of the fact that you aren't ready to be a father. You even said yourself that you aren't and if anyone finds out about this I'm in deep shit. As for you, you will probably be fired"

"I- "

"Mommy?" came a voice behind Paul. He turned around to see the little boy holding a blanket to his chest tightly with a frightened expression. Shit they must have got too loud and woke him up.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Stephanie asked getting up from her chair and kneeling down in front of Aiden.

"I had a bad dream" Aiden replied as Stephanie pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay" Stephanie soothed him "How about we go back into your room and I'll stay with you while you fall back asleep?"

"Okay"

"I'll be right back" Stephanie said turning to Paul for a second before taking off with Aiden.

It didn't take long before Aiden was back out but Stephanie just sat in his room a little longer trying to calm down. She was dreading going back and facing Paul if she were being honest with herself. He was pretty angry and well she was pretty angry herself. It didn't help that it was bringing up everything she felt back when he left her. When she felt like she was ready to go back to deal with Paul she got up and headed out of Aiden's bedroom. Once she made it to the living room she stopped when she noticed Paul standing and staring at a picture in his hand. Stepping closer to him she noticed it was a baby picture of Aiden.

"I feel like I've missed out on so much" Paul said putting the picture back down in its place. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I missed his birth, his first words and his first steps and I'm sure the list goes on and on"

"He weighed 7 pounds when he was born and his first word was da- "

"Being told isn't the same as experiencing it for myself" Paul replied cutting her off. His voice was more calm now but she could tell he was still pissed off. "Did you really hate me that much?"

"I really just thought you wouldn't care" Stephanie said avoiding his question. She had really hated him, a lot.

"Wow" Paul replied shaking his head. "You didn't even give me a chance"

"Where are you going?" Stephanie asked watching him walk out of the living room and followed him.

"I'm going home. I just need to calm down because everything you say just pisses me off more" Paul replied opening the front door. "I'll be back tomorrow to see my son and then we'll talk more"

He didn't give her chance to respond as she watched him walk out and shut the door. They hadn't even really discussed anything and she had no idea what would happen from here. She was left feeling unsatisfied and part of her wondered if he would even be back.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for the reviews :) I hope you guys like this chapter!)

* * *

Early the next morning Paul pulled into Stephanie's driveway and shut his car off. He was dreading getting out and making his way to the front door because he was still pissed off about everything. Leaving last night had not helped as he had hoped, no it just gave him more time alone to think and to feel even angrier. Which left him tossing and turning all night and now he was running on very little sleep. So when eight o'clock rolled around he decided to go ahead and head to her house. Well after he had stopped and bought some kind of toy race car track and some toy cars for Aiden. He didn't even really know what Aiden liked but this was what he had decided to go with. Grabbing the bag of toys, Paul got out of his car and made his way to the porch. Once he reached the door he knocked on the door and hoped he wasn't about to wake them up. Stephanie probably wouldn't be happy about that. It only took a minute or two before the door was opened.

"Paul" Stephanie said sounding surprised.

"Can I come in?" Paul asked as she nodded her head and stepped aside to allow him in.

"What's that?" Stephanie asked after shutting the door behind them and eyed the bag in his hand curiously.

"I bought something for Aiden. Where is he?"

"He's still asleep" Stephanie replied rubbing her eyes. Now that he got a good look at her it looked like she hadn't got very much sleep either. He walked over to the table and sat the bag down before taking a seat.

"So why did you seem surprised when you opened the door?"

"I just uh… wasn't expecting to see you"

"I told you last night I would back today" Paul replied as she crossed her arms and looked away. "You didn't believe me"

"Well going off of past experience I wasn't really expecting it" Stephanie said shrugging her shoulders.

"I know I fucked up in the past, okay Steph? I get it. You've reminded me of that a lot and I've been trying to make that up to you but I had no idea what I actually left behind. I had no idea how bad I actually fucked up because **you** failed to tell me that we have a son. Yeah I'm an asshole for what I did but you fucked up too you know and I'm not that same guy I was back then" Paul replied feeling the anger from last night start to rise again. Today already seemed to be going bad just like last night the only difference was he could think a little clearer.

"Seriously?" Stephanie scoffed before taking off into the kitchen. Was she really going to deny she had done anything wrong? Make him out to the be the only bad guy in this whole scenario? He already had been feeling like shit about himself over what he had done and honestly he didn't know if he would ever stop. Yeah if he wouldn't have done what he had then he would have known about Aiden and been there for his life. But she could have found him and told him too especially after they were in a storyline but she still continued to hide it.

"Hi" Paul looked over to see Aiden. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there because he had been lost in his thoughts

"Hey" Paul said giving him a small smile before grabbing the bag of toys he had bought Aiden "I brought you something"

"Really?" Aiden asked excitedly with a big smile and walked over to stand in front of Paul.

"Is there any crayons in there?" Paul looked over to Stephanie who had come back from the kitchen holding a cup in her hand.

"No" Paul replied before looking back at Aiden and pulled out the toys from the bag. Aiden took them before sitting down in the floor and started opening them.

"You really have to watch him with crayons because he likes to color on walls"

"I drawed" Aiden corrected her and Paul had to try not to let out a chuckle. Paul looked back over to Stephanie who shook her head and took a drink out of her cup.

"What do you say to Paul for the gifts?"

"Thank you Paul" Aiden said looking up at him and then returning his attention back to his toys.

"You're welcome"

"Are you hungry sweetie?" Stephanie asked as Aiden nodded his head. "What would you like?"

"Cereal"

"Okay cereal it is" Stephanie replied turning around and heading back into the kitchen. Paul stood up and walked around Aiden as he played with his cars.

"So are we going to talk anymore about this?" Paul asked coming into the kitchen and watched her start pouring cereal into a bowl.

"Maybe after Aiden has his breakfast and I can put on something for him to watch. I really don't want him hearing our conversation" Stephanie replied grabbing the milk out of the refrigerator and pouring some into the bowl.

"Aren't we going to tell him?" Paul asked as Stephanie whipped around and gave him a look as if he were crazy.

"No. We can't just spring this on him. He has no idea who you even are except a wrestler with the same middle name as him. Plus, I'm not going to let you just walk into his life and introduce yourself as his father and something happen to make you want to walk away without a word. That would leave him so heartbroken and I will not let that happen to him"

"I would never do that him. He's my son"

"Are you sure about that? Being a parent is hard Paul besides even if that wasn't the problem we still couldn't tell him. What the hell do you think would happen when he went to my family and started talking about you?" Stephanie asked making him realize her family was going to be a problem. He could definitely lose his job and everything he had worked for. But Aiden was his son and he wanted him to know eventually that he was his father, they could figure out how to tell her family without it getting messy. Right?

"So you're not going to let me be a part of his life?"

"I didn't say that…let's just wait and talk about this after he gets done with his breakfast okay? His cereal is going to get soggy" Stephanie replied grabbing the bowl and heading out of the kitchen. Well at least she didn't say no to him being a part of his life at least. That had to be a good sign.

Paul walked out of the kitchen and sat down beside of Aiden as Stephanie sat the bowl down in front of Aiden. Then he watched as came over to sit in front of him. They sat in silence as Aiden ate his food and Paul stared at the woman he thought he had been falling for. Now everything he felt for her had changed, he wasn't sure how to feel except for angry and hurt towards her. It was like she was a different person to him. They could have possibly been a family together but he was mostly the one to blame for that not happening.

"Why are you staring at me?" Stephanie asked raising an eyebrow and breaking him out of his thoughts but thankfully he didn't have to answer as they were interrupted with a knock on the door. Stephanie got up out of chair and answered the door.

"Hey" said a female voice and then a familiar looking brunette walked into the house "Where is my favorite newp…. Paul?"

"Yeah" Then he remembered how he knew her; it was Stephanie's friend from college. "I'm sorry I can't remember your name"

"It's okay. It's been a couple of years since we seen each other and we didn't really talk much. I'm Kelsi"

"Kelsi! Look at what Paul got me" Aiden said getting down from the chair and going to where he left his toys.

"That was nice of him" Kelsi replied before looking over at Stephanie. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

"Yeah" Stephanie said nodding her head before looking over at Paul "Do you mind to make sure he doesn't get into anything he isn't supposed to?"

"Yeah I'll watch him" Paul replied before Kelsi grabbed Stephanie's hand and opened the door, pulling her outside and shutting the door. He then turned his attention to Aiden who had put down his toys and came back over to sit down to eat. "What do you think they are talking about?"

"Hair" Aiden said looking at Paul and shrugged before turning back to eating. He chuckled before leaning back in his chair and the room went silent once again. He had no idea how to really talk to Aiden since he didn't know much about kids but hopefully Stephanie would let him be a part of Aiden's life. He really wanted to get know him better.

"What the hell is going?" Kelsi asked as soon as they were outside on the porch. She hadn't got to tell Kelsi anything about what happened yesterday. She was going to call her today and talk to her about it but Paul had showed up which had surprised her.

"Paul found out about Aiden yesterday and that Aiden is his son" Stephanie replied watching Kelsi's eyes widen in surprise.

"How?"

"Shane was fucking stupid and brought him to the arena yesterday where he introduced them" Stephanie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She still wasn't handling this very well, that was for sure. Last night after Paul had left she had decided to lay down and try to get some sleep since Aiden was asleep. But all that happened was she would keep having bad dreams of Aiden being taken away from her or all the shit she went through in college when Paul left her.

"Woah. What happened after that? How bad did you hurt Shane?"

"I didn't hurt Shane because he doesn't understand the big deal about it. My family doesn't know Paul is Aiden's dad, remember? So all I could do was yell at him which didn't go very well either. I was hoping maybe Paul didn't realize that Aiden belonged to him but he showed up last night at my house wanting answers"

"And he's back today. So does that mean he wants to be in Aiden's life?"

"That's what he's saying, for now anyway"

"Are you going to let him? How are you feeling about all of this?"

"I'm not sure and I'm scared. I'm scared of Aiden getting close to Paul and then he decides that he can't handle the responsibility and walks out of his life. That would hurt Aiden so bad and then I'm scared that if I don't then Paul will try to go get custody. I don't want to go through that, I mean what if they think I'm an unfit mother or- "

"Steph calm down. If anyone thinks your unfit mother, they are stupid. You are a great mom" Kelsi replied as tears starting to run down Stephanie's cheeks. Then Kelsi's arms were immediately around her.

"Thank you. I'm just such a mess right now" Stephanie said hugging her back.

"I can't even imagine what you are going through"

"What am I going to do Kelsi?" Stephanie asked as they broke from their hug.

"That's between you and Paul. I wish I could help but I don't have any answers or advice" Kelsi replied with a small shrug.

"I guess we should head back inside but we can talk more when he leaves" Stephanie said walking back over to the door and opening it. When she stepped inside she noticed that Paul and Aiden were no longer at the kitchen table so she headed into the living room thinking maybe they went to watch tv. The room was empty with the tv still off but then she heard Aiden's voice coming from what sounded like his room.

"That's a cool drawing. Although you probably shouldn't have done it on the wall" Stephanie heard Paul say as she came to the doorway of Aiden's room. She hadn't got a chance to do anything about Aiden's drawing yet and well Shane hadn't come over as promised to help.

"Mommy didn't like it. She was mad"

"I'm sure she liked your drawing. She just didn't like you doing it on the wall. Maybe you could draw it on paper for her" Paul suggested as Aiden nodded his head.

"I could do that" She couldn't help but smile at their interaction. Hadn't she wanted Aiden to be able to have his father? Now he was here and saying that he wanted to be in his life and she had no idea what to do.

"I could help you get this off if you want" Paul said when he noticed her standing in the doorway.

"But I don't want it off" Aiden replied looking up at Paul.

"Sorry buddy but I don't think your mom wants it on there" Paul said ruffling his hair.

"That's okay Shane said he would help me" Stephanie replied trying to refuse his offer nicely. She really had no idea how things were going to go so it was better if she didn't try to count on him to help her.

"Mommy can I watch tv?"

"Yeah"

"Can I watch Lion King?"

"Yeah you can watch Lion King" Stephanie replied with a smile.

"Come on Paul" Aiden said reaching up and tugging Paul's hand.

"Okay let's go" Paul replied with a chuckle as they headed out of Aiden's room and past Stephanie. She stayed in her spot at Aiden's doorway and leaned against the door frame. It looked like Aiden had already taken somewhat of a liking to Paul, either that or he was excited to hang out with someone new. Either way it scared her, it seemed like she was numb to every other feeling except fear. Fear for that she could never fully trust Paul, fear for her son if she let Paul in his life and he ended up letting him down. She kept wondering why Paul wanted to be in Aiden's life. Was it because he actually wanted to be a part of his child's life? Or was it because he didn't want to look like some kind of piece of shit because he knew he had a kid but wouldn't have anything to do with him? It was two of the many questions that had been running through her head last night every time she would wake up from one of her dreams.

"Steph" Kelsi called breaking her out of her thoughts. She had been standing there for God knows how long staring at Aiden's empty room lost in her thoughts.

"Coming" Stephanie called turning and walking back through the living room. Paul and Aiden were sitting on the couch with Aiden's movie going as he giggled at something Paul had obviously said. Kelsi wasn't in the living room with them so she kept walking in search of her.

"How is it going?" Kelsi asked as Stephanie found her sitting at the kitchen table flipping through a magazine.

"I'm not sure. Aiden seems to like him and right now there watching a movie but I haven't got a chance to really talk to him" Stephanie replied sitting down in a chair in front of her.

"I thought maybe you two were talking. That's why I didn't follow you" Kelsi replied closing the magazine and putting it aside.

"No I guess Aiden wanted to show Paul his drawing that he did on his bedroom wall"

"Should I leave? So you two can talk. I don't want to be in the way and with me here, well I'm sure you guys don't want to discuss those things in front of me"

"No don't leave. Besides they are watching a movie so it will be awhile anyway" and she was putting off having the conversation so any kind of distraction was welcome. She wasn't expecting Paul to be here this early so she thought she had more time to think on everything and well she wasn't sure if she should expect him at all.

"Steph… don't get mad about what I'm going to say…." Kelsi trailed off and cleared her throat. She definitely looked nervous.

"What?" Stephanie asked knowing if Kelsi was this nervous then she wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"Are you afraid that Paul is going to hurt you again?"

"Why would you think that? This whole thing is to do with Paul being in Aiden's life. It doesn't really have anything to do with me besides the fact that Paul and I would have to be around each other a little more. But we already are together a lot because of the storyline. The only person I'm afraid of Paul hurting is my son"

"I get that. I definitely don't want to see Aiden hurt either but Steph you… have feelings for Paul" Kelsi said in almost a whisper and Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Kelsi.

"I do not" Stephanie replied with a scoff. She did not want to discuss this and she wished Kelsi would drop this whole thing about her having feelings for Paul. So what if she had wanted him to kiss her at the door when he brought her home when she was hungover. It hadn't meant anything; she had just got swept in the moment that was all. Besides it was the last thing on her mind right now. The only thing she needed to think about was the situation she was currently in.

"Yeah I think you do" Kelsi said nodding her head. "And I think you are not only scared that Aiden is going to end up heartbroken if you decide to let Paul be a part of his life but you think you will end up heartbroken again too"

"You are way off. Can we please drop this?" Stephanie asked feeling annoyed as she got up from the table to go into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. Kelsi's words kept running through her mind though and she silently cursed her. Could she be right? Was she scared to let Paul in Aiden's life because she was afraid that she would get close to Paul again too and end up hurt all over again? She knew she would definitely hate him more than she ever had if he done that to Aiden, no doubt about that. But was she also scared for herself?

* * *

Time had seemed to pass by as Paul spent time with Aiden and he really had been enjoying it. Finding out things that Aiden liked to do had made trying to talk to him easier that was for sure. It was about noon now and he was dying to talk to Stephanie more about the situation they were in. He wanted to be a part of his son's life and he wanted his son to know that he was his father but it seemed Stephanie didn't want any of that. Especially the part of Aiden knowing he was his father. It made him wonder who exactly Stephanie's family thought was Aiden's father. Did she have some other guy claiming to be Aiden's dad? He didn't really like the thought of that.

"I'm hungry" Aiden said turning his attention from the tv and looking at him.

"Okay let's go have your mom fix you something" Paul replied as Aiden jumped up from the couch and took off before Paul had even a chance to get up. The kid was fast, that was for sure. After he got up from the couch he headed in the direction Aiden has sprinted off to and could hear Kelsi's voice coming from the kitchen.

"Have you talked to him?" Paul heard Kelsi ask as he stopped, trying to stay out of view. He normally didn't eavesdrop but he was curious about what they were talking about and knew if they saw him then they would go silent.

"Not since he kissed me" that got his attention. He couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest upon hearing that some guy had kissed her. Yeah he was pissed at her right now but he had been falling for her before all of this.

"Are you going to talk to him again or go on another date with him?"

"I don't know Kelsi. Jake's a great guy but I'm just trying to get through today" Paul rolled his eyes, they were talking about **that** guy. He didn't really feel like standing here listening to her go on about how great this guy was when he probably really wasn't. He still didn't believe the excuse he gave her of why the guy stood her up. With that thought he stepped into the kitchen and Kelsi's eyes were immediately on him.

"You know Steph instead of making Aiden something to eat why don't I just take him out?" Kelsi offered turning her attention to Stephanie.

"That's fine. I can just make him something here"

"No really, I insist. We can get ice cream after. How does that sound Aiden?" Kelsi asked as Aiden's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yeah!" Aiden replied "Can I please go with Kelsi?"

"I don't know…" Stephanie trailed off shaking her head before Kelsi whispered something that Paul wasn't able to hear. "Fine but don't let him have too much ice cream"

"Go grab your jacket Aiden and we'll go so mommy and da… Paul can have some time to talk" Kelsi replied catching herself before she said daddy. Paul could have sworn it looked like Stephanie was going to explode when Kelsi almost called him daddy to Aiden. This wasn't going to be good if Kelsi left her pissed off.

Aiden had paid no attention to the last part as he left the kitchen to get his jacket and Kelsi followed him, probably to get away so Stephanie couldn't yell at her. Now they were the only two in the kitchen and Stephanie seemed to try to look anywhere but at him.

"Bye mommy" Aiden said coming back into the kitchen and giving her a hug.

"Bye sweetheart. Be good for Kelsi"

"Bye Paul" Aiden said giving him a small wave.

"Bye" Paul replied waving back at him and then Aiden was out of the kitchen. They were left alone again as they heard the front door close and Stephanie leaned against the counter with a sigh.

"Okay I need you to be honest with me Stephanie. Do you want me to be a part of Aiden's life?"

"Not really" Stephanie replied crossing her arms. He had already known the answer to that just by the way she was acting but he needed her to say it. It didn't mean he still wasn't going to try though.

"Why?" Paul asked as she finally looked at him.

"Because of what I said earlier. I don't want Aiden to get hurt if you realize you aren't the father you thought you could be. This isn't just some relationship you can walk out on and the girl just move on with her life. This is a child that you are a father to and walking out on him would damage him"

"And I told you that I wouldn't do that- "

"How do I know that Paul? How can I trust you at all?"

"I know I haven't really given you a reason to trust me but all I want is a chance to show you differently. I want Aiden to know me and I want to know him. He deserves to have his father and I'm not going anywhere, no matter how hard it gets. Just let me prove it"

"I guess I don't really have a choice anyway, do I?" Stephanie asked shrugging her shoulders. He knew what she meant and he would rather not have to involve lawyers and that kind of shit. He really didn't want to piss her off and make her hate him more than what she probably already did but if that was the only choice she would leave him then he didn't see a way around it.

"I'd rather not do it that way. I want us to work this out just between us and I'll do it the way you want if you will just work with me"

"I don't want him knowing you're his father- "

"I want him to know that. I don't want to be known as just Paul, some guy who comes to hang out with him. I know you're scared of your family knowing I'm his father but I'm sure we can tell them at some point without it all going to hell"

"Paul will you let me finish? I don't want him knowing you're his father right now. Just give me some time to make sure you are really going to stick around before we even think about that. For now, you can come and see him and get to know him. I just want to take it slow and then we can go from there I guess" Stephanie replied looking away from him. She wasn't happy about the decision; he could tell but at least she was going to give him a chance.

"That sounds good to me. I promise you Stephanie that I'm not going anywhere" He could tell she didn't fully believe him but he was going to prove to her that he was different now and he could be the father that Aiden needed him to be.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the reviews :) I'm so glad you are guys are enjoying the story!

* * *

Stephanie sat down on the couch in her dressing room and closed her eyes relaxing in the last few minutes of peace she had left. She had taken Shane's advice and asked Vince if she could have a couple of days off. Surprisingly he had let her but it was probably because Shane told him about her breakdown at his house. When Shane first mentioned taking a couple of days off she had thought about it because of the simple fact that she wanted to avoid Paul. That plan of course was thrown out the window when he showed up at her house so instead she had taken the days off to spend time with Aiden and just try to relax. It also helped just to have a few days to think since her and Paul came to their agreement, she still didn't really feel all that at ease with it. But he wasn't backing down and at least this way he was working with her on taking it slow. She was not ready to tell her family the truth yet and she definitely wasn't ready for Aiden to know just in case Paul stopped communicating with them. For the last couple of days, he had kept his word but then again this was still all new and it was going to take more than that to trust him. Maybe in time if he proved to her that he really wasn't going to run off again than she could trust him but right now she had to take it day by day. She had no idea what the future held but hopefully whatever happens in the end of all it Aiden would be happy and that is all she really wants for her son.

Opening her eyes, she grabbed her purse and took out her cellphone to call Linda quickly to check on Aiden before she had to focus on the show tonight but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Getting up from the couch she made her way to the door and opened it to find Paul standing there.

"Hey" Paul said looking over her shoulder into her dressing room.

"Are you looking for something?" Stephanie asked looking back behind her and didn't see anything of interest.

"I thought maybe you would have brought Aiden"

"Let's not discuss Aiden while we are standing in the doorway of the dressing room where anyone can walk by and listen in" Stephanie said stepping aside and motioning him to come inside her dressing room. The last thing she needed was someone overhearing anything about Aiden. It was bad enough Shane had brought him to the arena on Monday and she hadn't quite forgiven him for it. That is why she had asked Linda to watch him for her this time.

"Okay" Paul replied walking into her dressing room and she shut the door behind them before going back to her spot on the couch. "So where is he?"

"He's with my mom"

"Why didn't you just bring him with you?" Paul asked walking over and taking the seat beside of her.

"Because even though you know about him now doesn't mean I'm ready to start bringing him around here" a part of her was scared that if she did then maybe people would start putting it all together. Especially when Paul and Aiden were together, you could definitely see the resemblance. If that happened well it wouldn't take long for people to start talking and her family hear about it. She was thankful that Shane hadn't seen the resemblance or he just thought it was impossible because of her lie to her family about Aiden's dad. Either way she was just glad he hadn't put it together.

"So you deliberately didn't bring him around here because you didn't want me to find out?"

"I…" she trailed off not wanting to tell him that was one of the biggest reasons she had never brought Aiden but she didn't want to fight. Not here, not now.

"Of course that's why" Paul answered for her as he scoffed and shook his head.

"I don't want to get an argument here so can we please drop the subject for now?" Stephanie asked as her cellphone started vibrating and ringing in her hand. She had forgot that she had still been holding it.

"I guess we have to" Paul replied as she looked at the name on her phone. It was Jake. She had kind of been avoiding him, mostly on purpose at first because she wasn't sure about him. But for the last couple of days it was because of the stress of her new situation she was in. She stared at the phone debating on whether she should answer or not. It was going to be kind of awkward talking to him but then again maybe it was better to talk to him than fight with Paul.

"Hello" Stephanie answered getting up from the couch and putting a little distance between her and Paul.

"So you are alive and well" Jake said with a chuckle.

"Yeah" Stephanie replied with a small chuckle of her own. "I've been pretty busy lately. I'm so sorry"

"No need to apologize. I'm just glad you weren't avoiding me on purpose" Stephanie couldn't help but feel bad because that was exactly what she had been doing. "Do you think you might have some free time this weekend?"

"I'm not really sure at the moment" Stephanie hesitated. Did she want to try and give this guy a chance? He seemed nice and she did like his company but if she didn't think there was anything between them she didn't want to lead him on. It was only wasting his time and that wouldn't be right.

"Well how about you call me sometime this weekend and let me know?" Jake asked as Stephanie looked over at Paul, she could feel his eyes on her. He was sitting on the couch tapping his fingers against his knee while practically staring a hole through her with a scowl on his face.

"I'll let you know" Stephanie replied "I've got to get going"

"I'll talk to you later"

"Bye" Stephanie ended the call and walked back over to the couch and grabbed her purse to put her cellphone back in. When she turned her attention back to Paul he was still staring at her. "What?"

"Was that your boyfriend?"

"That's none of your business" Stephanie replied crossing her arms.

"I think if things between you and that guy are getting serious and you are going to let him be a part of Aiden's life then I have a right to know. Unless he already is and you have Aiden calling him daddy"

"Aiden hasn't even met Jake. Aiden has only met maybe two guys that I've ever dated because they were the only guys I was even really serious about. He never called them daddy either"

"Who does he think his daddy is? Who does your family think his dad is?"

"My family thinks it's some guy from college that I made up and as for Aiden he doesn't know anything. I haven't told him anything and he hasn't asked. I didn't want to have to lie to him like I am to everyone else and if he had ever asked me before now then I'm not sure how I would have explained it to him" Stephanie replied shrugging her shoulders.

"So if he were to ask you who his dad is then you would tell him that it's me?"

"Yeah" Stephanie nodded her head. Although she hoped Aiden didn't ask anytime soon because she wasn't ready for him to know just yet.

"How long do you think it will be until we do tell him?"

"I don't know" Stephanie replied tucking her hair behind her ears "you've only been in his life for a couple of days and it will take longer than that"

"I know. I just feel like I'm some random person to him" Paul said leaning back on the couch with a sigh. Stephanie sat back down beside of him on the couch. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for him because if the roles were reversed, well she couldn't even imagine how bad it would hurt.

"Just give it a little bit longer. That's all I'm asking"

"Promise me that we are going to eventually tell him" Paul pleaded looking into her eyes.

"I promise"

Later that night Paul left his dressing room and started to head down the hallway to leave the building when he spotted Stephanie heading his way. When he had first talked to her tonight it had started off rocky but at the end something felt like it had changed. She seemed to have softened up to him at the end of the conversation so maybe she was trying to be more understanding, or at least he hoped. It would make their whole situation a lot easier if she could try to be more understanding. They both were parents to Aiden and somehow they would have to work together on all of this. Right now was hard because he knew Stephanie was used to being the only one in Aiden's life and well he was to get over the fact that she hid Aiden from him. Neither one was easy tasks and he couldn't help but feel his blood boil every time he was reminded of what she did. He pushed that thought away not wanting to get upset as she got closer to him.

"Hey"

"Hey" Stephanie said stopping beside of him and adjusting the purse strap on her shoulder. "Heading to the hotel?"

"No actually I was going to go eat. What about you?" Paul asked as they started walking down the hall.

"I'm probably going to go back to the hotel and relax, maybe watch some television. Although food does sound good"

"You could always join me"

"I don't think that's such a good idea" Stephanie replied shaking her head.

"Okay. I just thought maybe we could talk more about- "

"Every time we talk more about Aiden we always end up fighting"

"I just want to know more about him Steph" Paul replied as she sighed. "And you wouldn't make your husband go out to eat by himself would you?"

"You can be so irritating; you know that?"

"Right back at you" Paul replied with a smile as she rolled her eyes. "So what do you say?"

"Fine but don't start a fight with me" Stephanie said as they made it outside.

"Don't start one with me" Paul joked as he started heading to his car when he noticed she was no longer beside of him. He turned around to see her heading to her car. "Where are you going?"

"To my car"

"Why? We are going to the same place just ride with me"

"What about my car?" Stephanie asked stopping and turning to face his direction.

"It will be fine. I'll bring you back to get it"

* * *

"You should probably slow down. I don't want a repeat of last time" Paul said with a small laugh as Stephanie sat her glass down and giggled.

"I haven't even had that much and I don't want a repeat of last time either"

They had just finished eating and it had been a surprisingly pleasant evening. They hadn't argued and she had told him some stories about Aiden. She seemed to be in a good mood but that could also be the alcohol she had been consuming but at least she was opening up to him. She even told him about the pregnancy without bringing up how he wasn't around or throwing something in his face about it. It gave him hope that maybe they really could try and put the past behind them and move forward.

"Okay just as long as you don't mistake someone else's car as your own" Paul replied as a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Let's just not talk about the last time I got drunk"

"Why not? Shawn was right it was kind of funny now that I think about it"

"Shut up" she blushed even more before picking up her glass and taking another drink.

"Are you going to need me to carry you to bed again?" Paul asked with a laugh. Her face was pretty red from embarrassment but he couldn't but tease her.

"Okay I think that is enough" Stephanie replied looking at anything but him.

"Aww are you a little embarrassed?"

"Enough about my stupid drunken night. I want to know something about you" Stephanie said finally looking back at him. It felt as everything suddenly turned serious and it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"What do you want to know?"

"I…I know that you think what happened between us was just a fling" Stephanie paused for a moment licking her lips and he couldn't help but wonder where she was going with this. He didn't want to get in an argument "but- "

"Steph. Can we please not go there? For once in the last couple of days we haven't fought and it's actually pretty nice" Paul replied as she turned her head away from him. He knew he had upset her but nothing good ever came from talking about their time together. Maybe it was time to call it a night before they did start a fight. What was it about alcohol that made her want to talk about these things?

"Fine" Stephanie snapped before standing up from the table. "I get it. You just pretty much gave me my answer."

He watched her walk away from the table and outside. This wasn't good because now he was sure they were going to end up fighting especially since they were going to be stuck in the car together. After he paid their bill he made his way outside to his car where she was leaned up against the side of the car with her arms crossed.

"You're still here" Paul joked coming over to her and putting his hand on her arm but she shrugged him off.

"Of course I am. You're my ride" Stephanie replied looking away from him.

"What did you want to know Steph?" Paul shrugged his shoulders in defeat. She was already pissed off at him anyway so he might as well tell her what she wanted to know but she just shook her head "just ask it Steph. What do you want to know about our fling? If that's what you even want to call it. I think I just tried to tell myself that was all it was"

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked looking up at him.

"That what we were wasn't just a fling"

"What changed your mind? Is it because you found out about Aiden?"

"No. That has nothing to do with him" Paul replied feeling his heart rate speed up slightly. He hadn't really wanted to say as much as he had because he didn't want to tell her about what he had been feeling for her or was feeling for her. That part was complicated since he found out she had been keeping Aiden a secret. He couldn't deny that he had felt jealous earlier when she had been talking to Jake or the fact that he couldn't help but want to flirt with her when they were actually getting along.

"If it wasn't just a fling then why did you just leave me for Joanie?" Stephanie asked so quietly that he almost hadn't heard her.

"I didn't leave you for Joanie"

"But not long after you just stopped talking to me I found out you were back with Joanie"

"I didn't just go right back to her. Joanie and I started talking again not long after but only as friends. I mean as you can see we did eventually get back together but I didn't just jump from you to her"

"I don't understand" Stephanie replied shaking her head.

"That's probably because you're not completely sober" he laughed and she shot him a dirty look.

"I'm fine. I'm hardly even feeling the effects from the alcohol"

"Sure. Come on let's get going to the hotel"

"Umm no. You have to take me to my car" Stephanie replied pushing herself off the car and straight into him.

"Woah" Paul chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I thought you said weren't feeling any effects from the alcohol"

"That was an accident" Stephanie said placing her hand on his chest and looked up at him.

"I'm sure it was" he said softly reaching up with his free hand and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. They stood there for a moment as he stared into her eyes before his gaze landed on her lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly but God knows how she would feel about that and it would probably make things more complicated. But he could have sworn there was a look in her eyes, almost pleading look that she wanted it too. Then again he was probably reading into things so making up his mind he cleared his throat. "I think it's best if you don't drive. I can take you to get your car tomorrow"

"Paul- "

"No arguments. You just proved you shouldn't be behind the wheel and besides with how much you did drink I wouldn't have let you anyway"

"Fine"

"Now do you need me to help you in the car?" Paul asked with a laugh and she smacked him lightly on the chest before he let his arm drop from around her waist. He watched her open the door to the car and climb in and she stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door behind her. He shook his head and smiled before going over to his side of the car and getting in.

* * *

Stephanie opened her eyes and groaned at the bright sunlight that filled her room. It was way too damn bright for her liking but at least she didn't have a pounding headache or even feel sick to her stomach. She had been a little tipsy last night which had led to the conversation she had with Paul. She hadn't even meant to go down that road but it happened and she couldn't change that now. God she just hoped Paul brushed it off as nothing, she felt so stupid for even bringing it up. Then she had to go and trip over her feet right into him and make a bigger ass of herself but at least she hadn't come out and told him to kiss her. Stupid alcohol, would she ever learn to just stop drinking it?

Kicking the blankets off of herself she got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had to go find Paul and face what happened last night because she needed to go get her car. Then when she got back she would take a shower and call Linda so she could talk to Aiden. But as soon as she had made it to the door of the bathroom her cellphone started ringing. Maybe she wouldn't have to wait to talk to Aiden after all but as she made her way over to the nightstand and picked it up it wasn't her mother after all.

"Hello"

"Why haven't you been answering me?"

"Good morning to you too Kelsi" Stephanie replied with a small laugh.

"It's not funny. I thought something bad happened"

"No I just had my ringer turned off last night and forgot to turn it on until I got back to the hotel. I got all of your missed calls and texts so don't worry about that. I just didn't reply because I wasn't sure if you were awake because it was pretty late"

"I was still up at the time you should have made it back to the hotel"

"I uh went somewhere after the show was over"

"Where did you go?" Kelsi asked and Stephanie bit her bottom lip debating if she should say anything about Paul. Kelsi was her best friend and she told her everything but Kelsi also kept trying to say she had feelings for Paul. Right now she didn't want to get into that because no matter how much she denied it Kelsi wouldn't let it go.

"Just out to eat"

"By yourself?" Stephanie let out a sigh. Of course she would have to ask and well she couldn't lie to her.

"No"

"Stop being so short with your answers. Who was it?"

"Paul asked me if I wanted to come with him to eat"

"He asked you out on a date?" Kelsi asked not hiding the excitement in her voice.

"No it wasn't a date. He just wanted to talk about Aiden and I wouldn't have agreed to go on a date with him"

"Whatever you say Steph" Kelsi replied and Stephanie rolled her eyes. She knew that was coming. "Did anything happen?"

"Yes but I'll need to tell you about it later. Right now I need to go get my car because Paul wouldn't let me drive it back last night and I need to call my mom so I can talk to Aiden"

"Smart man for not letting you drive. You better call me right after you talk to Aiden"

"I will"

"I'll be waiting" Kelsi replied before Stephanie ended the call.

After brushing her teeth and her hair Stephanie pulled on her shoes and headed out of her room to the elevator. She hoped she was remembering what floor and room number he was staying in correctly. He had told her them last night and told her when she was ready to go get her car this morning to come and get him. Maybe she should have texted him and told him to meet her in the lobby. She didn't want anyone seeing her going to his room, she could imagine the rumors that would be spread. But it was too late for that now as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Hopefully he would be awake and they could just get out of here quickly.

Stephanie stepped out of the elevator and started heading down the hallway when she spotted Joanie walking out of one of the rooms at the end of the hall. Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks feeling her heart start to race. She would never hear the end of it if she caught Stephanie at Paul's door. What else could she do though? Stand in the middle of the hall and look like an idiot? Joanie wasn't paying attention to her anyway, she was faced towards the door of the room she came out of. Apparently she was caught up in a conversation with whoever was still in the room so maybe there was a chance Joanie wouldn't notice her at all. All she had to was find the hotel room number that Paul said he was in.

That was when the person Joanie was talking to stepped out more into the hallway, it was Paul. Well she found his room and there was no way to avoid Joanie. Why in the hell was she leaving Paul's room in the first place? She hadn't seen Paul talk to Joanie in a while and the last thing she remembered was Paul being furious with her. So why did they seem friendly right now?

That question was answered though as Stephanie watched Joanie lean over and kiss him. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach and she turned back around as fast as she could. She just needed to get back to the elevator and get away from this scene as fast as she could. All she wanted to forget what she just saw and thankfully it didn't take long for the elevator doors to open. She stepped back in and jabbed the button to her floor as she felt tears start stinging her eyes. After the doors closed she didn't even try to hold the tears back as she began to sob.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for the reviews and I hope you guys like this chapter!

* * *

Paul stepped through the door to his apartment and headed into the living room sitting down his suitcases. He was actually glad to be home for once. All he wanted to do was sit and relax for a few minutes before he headed over to Stephanie's house to spend some time with Aiden. He just hoped things weren't weird between him and Stephanie while he was there. For some reason since that night he thought about kissing her she had been acting quiet and distant towards him. It had been two days ago since the incident almost occurred and it wasn't like she knew he wanted to kiss her, right? Maybe she had caught on to it and was trying to get him to take the hint that she didn't want that. That could be it since she hadn't even come to him to take her to get her car the next morning. Oh well, maybe it was for the best. He could imagine how Vince would react to wanting to date Stephanie and he wasn't even sure if Stephanie could ever trust him again. Right now his main priority was trying to be a dad even though his son didn't know him as his dad yet.

Paul walked over to the couch and sit down and ran his hand through his hair. It was great to be home and away from people he didn't want to be bothered by. Actually a specific person he didn't want to be bothered by. He had been trying to avoid her at all cost since she showed up at his hotel room. Joanie really didn't know how to take a fucking hint and it was getting frustrating. They hadn't even talked since Armageddon and he hadn't been expecting her to show up at his hotel room that morning. He had been expecting Stephanie so when he opened the door it was kind of a shock but then that turned into anger once she pushed her way into his room. The nerve of that woman, no amount of apologizing for cheating on him was going to make him want her back. It had taken him forever just to get her back out of his room and he had really tried being civil towards her even though she didn't deserve it. Then she had taken him by surprise and fucking kissed him but after he broke the kiss he done the only thing he could think of to hopefully get it through her head that he was done. He told her he didn't love her anymore and he had feelings for someone else. Joanie had looked completely crushed before she started accusing him of being with Stephanie and then he just slammed the door in her face. Probably not the smartest thing to do since Joanie would probably going around telling everyone that would listen that he had feelings for Stephanie. Hopefully they would just ignore her, they seemed to have lately anyway. He just hoped if Joanie said anything to Stephanie that she would ignore her too.

Paul reached over and grabbed the remote off the table and started flipping through the channels on the television when his cellphone started vibrating against his leg. Reaching in his pocket Paul pulled his phone out and looked at the caller ID before answering it.

"Hey"

"Hey. How is everything?" Shawn asked as Paul let out a sigh and tossed the remote to the tv beside of him on the couch.

"It's okay I guess"

"That doesn't sound very convincing" Shawn laughed "are you hanging out with Aiden right now?"

"No. I'm actually waiting on Steph to tell me when they have made it home. When I talked to her last they were at her parents' house"

"You seem stressed"

"That's because I am"

"Uh oh. Is Stephanie giving you a hard time?"

"She was at first but I don't know it felt like something had changed between us the night of Smackdown. I took her to dinner and for once we didn't fight about Aiden or what happened in the past"

"Wait. You took her on a date?"

"No it wasn't a date" Paul replied shaking his head and rolled his eyes as Shawn started laughing. "I wanted to talk to her more about Aiden"

"Okay. Well you said it felt like something had changed. Is she back to giving you a hard time now or something?"

"Actually she just seems more quiet and distant from me. When I've called to check on Aiden it seems like she is in a hurry to get off the phone with me, I don't get it"

"Did something happen at dinner?"

"Not really. She had some alcohol and well she ended up tripping right into me. Then I uh almost... kissed her" Paul replied and then Shawn busted out laughing. If he had been there Paul would have probably smacked the shit out of him. How did he find this funny? "You can stop laughing now. It really isn't that funny"

"I'm sorry but one minute you love her and the next your pissed at her. Now you love her again? I can't keep up with your emotions"

"Yeah well I can't either. It's complicated since I found out about Aiden. I want to be pissed and I do still get pissed when I think about her keeping him from me but then I still find myself wanting to do things like kiss her. I'm pretty sure she knows I was about to and I think that's why she's putting distance between us because she doesn't feel the same way"

"Well the only way to know is just tell her how you feel and find out if she feels the same. Or you could just actually kiss her"

"It's not that easy. Even if she did feel the same way she's still the boss's daughter- "

"Who you already have a child with from your brief time together years ago. Which one do you think Vince would fire your ass for?" Shawn asked with a laugh "No matter what Vince is going to be pissed. So that can't be your reason anymore"

"I still have Aiden to think about, he comes first. If I tried to date Stephanie again and things didn't work out, then it would make our situation with Aiden even harder. I don't want that"

"You only have two options really. Risk it and tell her how you feel or move on but you do realize at some point Stephanie will find someone else to be with, right?" Shawn asked as that Jake guy came to mind. He had no idea how serious it was with him and Stephanie but he knew he hated the thought of them together. Shawn was right. He had only two options but he didn't know if he could take the risk of telling her especially when one minute he was pissed off at her and the next minute all he wanted to do was be with her.

"Yeah I know"

* * *

"Steph- "

"I don't want to talk about it" Stephanie called walking into her bedroom and shutting the door behind her. She had just got back from her parents' house to find Kelsi waiting for her. The first thing out of her mouth was of course about Paul and that was the last person she wanted to talk about. Him and Joanie kissing was still fresh in her mind. All she wanted to do was forget it because every time she thought about it she just wanted to cry and she didn't want to cry over those two again. She cried enough over them years ago and she had to actually witness them getting back together this time which somehow hurt even more.

"Just talk to me" came Kelsi's muffled voice through the bedroom door. Stephanie shook her head and walked over to her closet to search for a new shirt. She had spilled iced tea down the front of the one she was wearing and she needed out of it quick. Plus, it gave her a few minutes to keep avoiding talking to Kelsi because she knew she would just break down again and that was not something she could do. Paul would be here soon to see Aiden and she didn't want him seeing her cry. She had text him letting him know they were home and even though she didn't want to see him, she had no choice really. It wasn't like he was going to try being around her anyway so she could try to keep her distance. After she finished changing Stephanie went over to the bedroom door and opened it to see Kelsi standing there.

"I don't want to talk about it. Paul will be here soon" Stephanie said trying to move past her but Kelsi blocked her way.

"Admit it" Kelsi replied crossing her arms and staring her in the eyes.

"Admit what?" Stephanie asked shrugging her shoulders trying to brush her off.

"That you have feelings for him Steph. It's obvious and it has been for a while, no matter how much you denied it. That's why you are so hurt about seeing him and Joanie kiss" Kelsi replied but Stephanie just scoffed and tried to move past to her again but Kelsi wasn't backing down.

"Please move"

"Where is my best friend that tells me everything?" Kelsi asked with a pained look in her eye. "I know your stubborn Steph but are you really still denying it to yourself or just to me? You know that I'm not going to say I told you so"

"Please don't make me say it" Stephanie pleaded feeling tears start stinging her eyes. She didn't want to say it out loud, hell she didn't even want to have feelings for him again. She had told herself time and time again that she didn't have feelings for him to the point she believed it. Then seeing him and Joanie kiss made her realize that she really did have feelings for him and now it was happening all over again. He was back with Joanie while she was left hurting because he didn't feel the same way about her.

"So your finally done denying it?" Kelsi asked and Stephanie nodded her head before the tears spilled down her face. Then Kelsi came towards her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Mommy what's wrong?" Stephanie opened her eyes to see Aiden standing and staring at them.

"Nothing sweetheart. I was just a feeling a little sad but I'm better now" Stephanie replied as her and Kelsi broke from their hug. She wiped away her tears and gave Aiden a smile to reassure him.

"You should eat ice cream. Ice cream always makes me feel better" Aiden said nodding his head.

"Is that your way of asking for ice cream?" Stephanie asked with a small laugh and Aiden nodded his head "okay you have a one bowl of ice cream"

"Are you okay?" Kelsi asked as Aiden ran off to the kitchen excited about getting ice cream.

"I'll be fine. I got through this before" Stephanie replied forcing a smile even though all she wanted to do was cry but she had to be strong especially in front of Aiden.

Stephanie and Kelsi headed to the kitchen to get Aiden some ice cream before he became impatient and tried getting it himself. It happened once before and he hadn't had a good grip on it and the ice cream box went smashing to the floor getting it everywhere. That was not fun to clean up. Once they were in the kitchen Stephanie went over to the cabinet getting out some bowls when there was a knock on the door.

"You get that and I'll get the ice cream" Kelsi said as Stephanie placed the bowls on the counter and took a breath. She already knew who it was. Wiping at her eyes one last time to make sure it wasn't evident she had been crying, Stephanie made her way to the door and opened it.

"Hey" Paul greeted with her a smile but it quickly faded into a look of concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything is fine" Stephanie replied forcing a smile.

"You look like you have been crying" Paul said lifting his hand to her face and taking his thumb and wiping gently underneath her eye. Her heart started to speed up at his touch and she swallowed before stepping back away from him.

"I just got something in my eye earlier and it made my eyes water. Everything is fine, really" Stephanie lied hoping he would believe her and not push her about it. He didn't say anything though as he walked into the house so either he believed her or he just wasn't going to say anything else about it.

"Paul!" Aiden shouted excitedly as Stephanie shut the door and turned to see Aiden sitting at the table smiling at Paul.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Paul asked going over to him and ruffling his hair before sitting down in the chair beside of him.

"Eating ice cream! I told mommy it would make her feel better cause she was sad" Aiden replied before shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. Well now Paul definitely knew she was lying.

"Really?" Paul asked looking over at her and she turned and walked into the kitchen to avoid him. Why did Aiden have to tell Paul she had been sad? She just hoped he didn't question her about it because she wasn't about to tell him the reason why.

"Your ice cream is right there Steph" Kelsi said pointing to the bowl on the counter.

"Thanks" Stephanie replied picking up the bowl and leaning against the counter. It didn't take long before she heard footsteps heading their way and she knew it was Paul.

"I'm just going to go sit at the table" Kelsi said as Paul entered the kitchen. Kelsi didn't even give her a chance to respond as she made her way out of the kitchen quickly. She couldn't believe Kelsi would just leave her alone with the guy she had been crying over just moments ago. What a great friend she was!

"So it looks like our kid ratted you out" Paul said with a laugh coming over beside of her and leaning against the counter. "Did that Jake guy do something?"

"No. It had nothing to do with him" Stephanie replied before taking a bite of her ice cream.

"Are you going to tell me why you were crying then?"

"I don't want to talk about it Paul. I'll just start crying all over again"

"Okay but if it was something serious you would tell me, right?" Paul asked and she nodded her head before taking another bite of ice cream. "How about we talk about why you have been acting so weird around me lately then"

"I haven't been acting weird"

"Yeah you have. You've been quiet around me and that's not something you ever are around me" Paul chuckled and she shot a dirty look at him before returning her attention back to her ice cream.

"I've just been under some stress"

"You and me both" Paul replied crossing his arms and letting out a sigh. "I've been trying to avoid Joanie for the last two days. She showed up to my room that morning you were supposed to come up and meet me to get your car. I thought it was you and when I opened the door she came barging in. All she kept doing was apologizing for cheating and asking for a second chance. It took me forever to get her out of my room and when I finally did she stood there telling me how much she still loved me. Even went as far to say I still loved her before she took me by surprise and kissed me"

"Do you still love her?" Stephanie asked feeling her heart pounding against her chest. Did she really want to know this? It could crush her even further but the way he said he was avoiding her gave her some hope.

"No and when I told her that she didn't seem too happy. She then accused me of being with you before I slammed the door in her face but I think she finally understands that we are never getting back together. If not, well that's why I've been trying to avoid her" Stephanie couldn't help but smile at his admission. This whole time she had been crying over a situation that she had completely misread. The smile soon faded though as she realized that just because he was over Joanie didn't mean that he would ever have feelings for her either. Everything was complicated between them. They had a rocky past and now they were trying to get along to take care of their son together. Would there even be a chance for something more between them? Great this is what admitting her feelings to herself for him did, it just brought more problems.

* * *

Paul laid Aiden down gently in his bed and pulled the blanket over him. They had been watching some of Aiden's favorite movies and before he knew it Aiden had fallen asleep. So after the last movie had finished he had carried him to bed. He smiled down at Aiden before quietly walking to the light switch and turned the light off.

"Goodnight buddy" Paul whispered before leaving the room and headed back to the living room where he found Stephanie putting in another movie.

"I thought I would put something on that was more for us adults" Stephanie said turning around to look at him.

"You know you loved Aiden's movies. I saw you mouthing the words to some of the songs in them" Paul replied with a chuckle before flopping down on the couch.

"I've just watched them so many times I know them by heart. I didn't even realize I was mouthing the words" Stephanie said making her way over to the couch and sitting down beside of him. "You will too before long. He will have you watching them a lot."

"I guess then you will tease me about it, huh?" Paul asked bringing his arm up and resting it on the back of the couch as she nodded her head before she turned her attention to the movie. "So what is this? Some cheesy chick flick?"

"It is not cheesy"

"But it is a chick flick?"

"I guess if you consider romance movies that then yes" Stephanie replied looking back over at him for a second before returning her attention back to the tv. "You used to watch them and you never complained."

"That's because we never really ended up watching them. You just put them on for noise so Kelsi couldn't hear you moaning- "

"Paul!" He couldn't help but laugh as a blush rose to her cheeks and she smacked him lightly on the chest.

"What? It's true. The walls in that apartment were pretty thin" Paul replied through his laughter. He remembered when they found that out. The first night Stephanie and Kelsi moved into the apartment he had spent the night with her and the next morning Kelsi had no problem telling them exactly how much she had heard. Stephanie was so embarrassed that her face turned completely red. The next time he came to the apartment he found that she had got a small television to put in her room. She claimed it was so they could watch movies in her room alone but it was probably also used to help drown out the sound of them having sex.

"I hated that apartment" Stephanie said shaking her head "I'm surprised you remember that"

"How could I not? You were so embarrassed the next morning we found out how thin the walls were. I thought you were going to die from embarrassment"

"Kelsi wouldn't let me live that one down for a while" Stephanie replied with a small chuckle as she leaned back on the couch and let her head rest against his arm.

"So we're really going to watch this?" Paul asked turning his attention to the movie.

"Well you're more than welcome to go home if you don't want to" She was right and he really should probably leave. Since he had been coming to see Aiden he usually did leave right after he fell asleep and after his conversation with Shawn earlier he had made the decision to try and move on. He just couldn't risk telling her how he felt about her but after spending the day with her and Aiden that decision seemed harder.

"I guess if you want me to leave…"

"I didn't say that" Stephanie replied turning her head slightly to look at him "I said if you didn't want to watch the movie then you could go home."

"One chick flick isn't going to kill me, or at least I hope not" Paul chuckled and she rolled her eyes before turning back to the movie once again.

The next thing Paul knew was there an annoying vibrating sound coming from somewhere close by. He opened his eyes and squinted as they adjusted to the light that filled the room. He groaned slightly as he turned his head to the find the vibrating noise and that was when he realized he wasn't at home. Apparently somewhere throughout the movie he had fallen asleep but he wasn't the only one. Stephanie was sleeping peacefully away on top of him with his arm around her and he wasn't even sure how they had ended up in this position. But he didn't even have time to think about it or try to move before he heard her front door open and shut. In a matter of seconds, he heard footsteps coming their way and then suddenly Shane appeared.

"What the fuck is this?"


	12. Chapter 12

This is the first chapter I have posted of this story since Chyna's death and I just wanted to say R.I.P Chyna. I was so shocked and saddened by her passing :( you will be missed Chyna.

* * *

Stephanie could feel something shaking her but she tried ignoring it. All she wanted to was sleep, she felt warm and comfortable. But the shaking continued and that was when she realized that it was probably Aiden and she knew it was time to get up. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes before opening them and she came in contact with a pair of hazel eyes. Stephanie froze and her mind went on overdrive thinking about last night. She remembered after Kelsi left that her, Aiden and Paul had sat down to watch movies. At some point Aiden had fell asleep and Paul took him to bed, then she remembered watching a movie with Paul. That is when she realized she must have fell asleep at some point in the movie just as Aiden had done earlier.

Stephanie finally lifted herself off of Paul feeling completely embarrassed and looked away to the clock on the wall to notice it was eight in the morning.

"Stephanie can I talk to you outside?" Stephanie jumped slightly and turned around to notice her brother staring at her. He didn't even give her a chance to respond before he started walking away. Fuck, how did he even get in her house? She must have forgot to lock the door last night before falling asleep and now he caught her sleeping on top of Paul. He probably thought there was something going on and that wasn't good.

Without even looking back at Paul she started walking out of the living room to meet Shane outside. Things were probably going to be awkward between her and Paul now. At least he didn't know she had feelings for him again because then it would just be completely awkward considering she was sure he didn't feel the same.

"What in the hell did I just walk in on?" Shane asked motioning towards inside the house once she had stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

"Nothing. That was completely innocent I swear. We were watching a movie and it got late and we just happened to fall asleep. Nothing else happened" Stephanie replied watching Shane shake his head. "What are you doing here so early anyway?"

"Marissa and I were hanging out with Jake last night and you came up in conversation. He said he thought you were blowing him off because you told him you would call him this weekend and let him know if you were free. So far he hadn't heard from you so he thought maybe you were just busy but he wasn't for certain. I knew you shouldn't be busy but I didn't tell him that so since I hadn't seen Aiden for a while I thought I would see him and figure out why you are blowing off yet another good guy. Walking in on that though it all makes sense"

"Shane- "

"I'm so confused because you were pissed about me bringing Aiden to the arena and that he met Paul. It's really confusing because you didn't want to even do this storyline with Paul because you seemed to not like him and now he's here at your house. You do realize that dad is going to be pissed right? One of the rules was that you can't date any of the wrestlers" Stephanie's eyes widened at the mention of Vince. This definitely couldn't get back to him especially since nothing was actually even going on between her and Paul. Even though she was beginning to want that.

"Shane you can't tell dad about this. I already told you it was completely innocent. Paul and I are not dating we are just friends. You're right though at first I didn't really care for Paul but doing this storyline I've got to know him better. I was mad about Aiden being at the arena in general not that he met Paul" Stephanie replied lying about the last part but she was not about to tell the truth.

"I'm not going to tell dad" Shane said running his hand through his hair. "I'm just warning you if you are trying to date Paul and dad finds out that he's going to be pissed. It's your life and I can't tell you what to do because it's none of my business. The only thing I'm pissed off about though is that you are leading Jake on and it isn't right. He's a good guy and I don't want to see my friend hurt so you need to call him and tell him the truth."

"I will call Jake. I'm not trying to date Paul though. I only like him as a friend" Stephanie lied as Shane moved past her and twisted the doorknob of the front door.

"Don't lie to me Stephanie" Shane replied before opening the door and walking inside. She stood there wondering if it was really obvious that she did have feelings for Paul or if she was just a bad liar. Shaking her head of those thoughts she walked back inside and the first thing she noticed was Paul and Aiden sitting at the table eating cereal.

"Uncle Shane!" Aiden called excitedly dropping his spoon in his bowl and standing up in the chair.

"Aiden sit down! You could lose your balance and hurt yourself" Stephanie scolded him but Shane picked him up and hugged him.

"There he isn't standing up in the chair anymore" Shane said and Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. Now she wasn't sure if Aiden got his smart ass attitude from Shane or his father, probably both.

"Paul made me cereal for breakfast" Aiden said trying to get Shane's attention back on to him.

"That was nice of him" Shane replied sitting Aiden back down in the chair. "Just sit back down here and finish it okay?"

"Okay" Aiden said picking the spoon back up and continued to eat.

"My cooking skills are pretty limited so he settled for cereal" Paul said with a chuckle and Stephanie looked over at him feeling her heart speed up with a just a simple look at him. It was going to be hard to keep her emotions in check.

"Thank you Paul for taking care of him while I was outside. I wasn't sure if he would stay asleep or not"

"It wasn't a problem" Paul replied smiling at her. Well so far at least he didn't seem uncomfortable with waking up with her on top of him. Maybe things wouldn't be so awkward after all and he would just pretend it didn't happen. In a way that thought comforted her but then again it didn't. She wanted him to feel something for her.

"Good morning Paul. How have you been?" Shane asked taking a seat in front of Aiden.

"I've been good. How about you?"

"Pretty good. Oh Steph" Shane said turning to look at her "Marissa wanted me to invite you and Aiden for dinner tonight while I was here."

"Okay. What time do you want us there?"

"Six or seven will work. Whatever time you can get yourself and Aiden ready" Shane replied turning back around to face Aiden.

"Would you like something to eat or drink Shane?"

"Coffee would be good. I'm not quite hungry yet" Shane replied and Stephanie nodded her head even though Shane couldn't see her and headed to the kitchen to make coffee. Hopefully busying herself would keep her mind off of Paul so she could try to tone down the way she was feeling being around him. Things were probably going to get harder considering she had to be around him a lot. If he wasn't here, then when she was at work she had to pretend be his wife and it was only going to make her fall for him more. Unless somehow he screwed up and that thought scared her a lot. Then it was also made her think about what Shane had said earlier about Vince giving her the rule of no dating the wrestlers. If Paul even had feelings for her and they tried dating and her dad found out well Paul could possibly be fired. Hell if Vince found out that Paul was Aiden's father he would probably be fired. She was honestly surprised that Paul hadn't bolted as soon as Shane walked in and found them this morning.

Zoning out into her own little world as she watched the coffee pot start to fill she hadn't even noticed someone had entered the kitchen until she felt something brush up against her back.

"Having fun?" Paul asked and she turned around to see an amused smile on his face as he put his dirty bowl into the sink.

"Tons" Stephanie replied with a chuckle before turning back around and kept her eyes on the coffee pot. "Thanks again for taking care of Aiden"

"Well he is my son and I'm going to make sure he's always taken care of" Paul whispered in her ear sending a shiver down her spine with how close he was. She could feel his breath on her and she swallowed trying to keep her composure. She tried to keep her focus on the words he just said instead and smiled. He really did seem like he was committed to being in Aiden's life just as he had told her.

"I'm glad to hear that" Stephanie replied clearing her throat before opening the cabinet in front of her and pulled out two cups. "Do you want any coffee?"

"No thanks" Paul replied as she felt him back away from her and she focused on pouring coffee into the cups. "So I guess I'm not going to have much time to spend with Aiden today since you two are going to Shane's later."

"Yeah I'm sorry about that" Stephanie apologized as she finished pouring the coffee and put the pot back in its place.

"It's fine. I know he has other family he has to spend time with. I'm just disappointed that I didn't get as much time as I would have liked"

"I understand that. Maybe next time you are free and you come to see him I'll make sure nobody else comes around so you two can just spend time together without any interruptions" Stephanie replied turning around to face him with both cups of coffee in her hands. "Well I better get one of these cups to Shane."

"Okay. Do you mind if I grab a water?" Paul asked as she was walking out of the kitchen.

"Help yourself" Stephanie replied and walked back into where Shane and Aiden were.

Paul walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He actually felt nervous being around her and after Shane found them in the position they were in this morning didn't help. Not long after Stephanie had run off to talk to Shane without even looking at him Aiden had woken up. So he didn't have time to really dwell on the situation he immediately started trying to make sure Aiden had whatever he wanted or needed. Now that Aiden was content and Stephanie was back inside he kept thinking about her being in his arms. If Shane hadn't been standing there staring at them looking confused, then he would have probably done something stupid like kiss her.

Once she raised her head and their eyes locked it took everything inside of him not close the distance between them and kiss her. She would have freaked out he already knew that much because it seemed like she was trying to avoid even looking at him now. He was trying not bring it up because he didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable than what she already seemed to be. Hopefully things wouldn't be so awkward for her later because he hated when she tried avoiding him and he had just got her to acting like herself again around him yesterday. Paul pushed the thoughts out of his mind and rubbed the back of his sore neck from the angle he had slept in last night. Then he started making his way back out of the kitchen to spend more time with Aiden. He hoped that Shane would leave soon though, it wasn't that he didn't like Shane and Shane had been friendly to him. It was just the fact he wanted to spend time with Aiden alone and he didn't need Shane getting suspicious of why he was spending time with Aiden.

When Paul made it back to the table and sat back down beside of Aiden he noticed Stephanie looked annoyed as she drank her coffee. He wasn't sure why she was because she had seemed okay in the kitchen.

"So when are you going to call him?" Shane asked after taking a drink of his coffee.

"When I get the chance Shane. I have company and it would rude to call him right now. Besides it's way too early and I don't know if he's up" Stephanie replied and sat her coffee down on the table with a sigh. He wondered who they were talking about but he kept his mouth shut because it really wasn't any of his business.

"Just make sure you do it today because I told him last night I would have you call him today no matter if you were busy or not" Shane said looking away from her quickly and taking another drink of his coffee.

"Shane" Stephanie replied in an annoyed tone.

"You can't put it off Stephanie. So I made sure you couldn't so don't make me out to be a liar" Shane said giving Stephanie a stern look. "Jake will let me know if you don't."

That was Paul realized they were talking about Stephanie's boyfriend and he felt his anger start to rise a little. He knew he had no right to get mad or jealous but he couldn't help it. It was a good thing he hadn't got to kiss her like he felt like doing this morning and not just because she would have freaked but because he had forgot that she had a boyfriend. All this time he had been thinking about how he had to move on because she didn't feel the same but it was also the fact she was already with someone else. Paul turned his attention to Aiden to try and ignore the conversation and the jealousy he was feeling.

"Aiden don't do that. You will make a mess" Paul said watching Aiden splash his spoon into the milk repeatedly.

"I'm not hungry anymore and I'm bored" Aiden replied dropping his spoon into the bowl.

"Then let's throw it away and we can go to your room and play" Paul said standing up and taking Aiden's bowl. At least he could get away from Stephanie and Shane's conversation about her boyfriend. He didn't really want to sit here and listen to more than he had to.

"Okay" Aiden replied getting up from his chair and out of the room while Paul went to throw his cereal away.

After Paul was done pouring the cereal out he put the bowl in the sink and headed to Aiden's room to play toys with him. When he reached his room he sat down in the floor beside of Aiden who was playing with cars and making noises as he pushed them along the floor. Paul smiled and joined in with him. He got so caught up in playing with Aiden that he didn't realize how long they had been in there just playing cars until he noticed Stephanie appear in the doorway.

"Well aren't you just a big kid" Stephanie said with a smile on her face and he laughed.

"Oh I am" Paul replied chuckling as she came into the room and sat down beside of him.

"Shane is gone now so I thought I would come and see what you two were doing" Stephanie said crossing her legs and stealing the car he had been playing with away from him.

"Hey I was playing with that first" Paul replied nudging her gently.

"That's not nice mommy" Aiden said shaking his head at her.

"You're right that wasn't nice was it?" Stephanie asked handing the car back to Paul.

"Here you can play with this one mommy" Aiden replied handing her a little red car before he went back to playing with his own.

"You know I don't mind if you want to call your boyfriend while I'm here if you want to call him" Paul lied hoping she wouldn't catch him on it. He did mind but he knew her boyfriend had to be important to her and he was here to keep Aiden occupied.

"He isn't my boyfriend. He never really was" Stephanie replied which confused him. He was happy to hear that she wasn't with the guy but he didn't understand why she had to call him then.

"Why did Shane want you to call him?" Paul asked trying to get a little more information. This was the first time she hadn't snapped at him that it was none of his business like she usually did. So he decided to try his luck and see if he could get her to open up more to him.

"So that I could tell Jake that I'm…. not interested in pursuing anything further than friendship. He's a friend of Shane's so he wants me to stop putting it off and be honest with Jake" Stephanie replied and Paul nodded his head not sure what to say to that. He wasn't going to question her decision because quite honestly he was happy about it. "So about this morning…"

"Don't worry about it Steph. You fell asleep on me it's nothing to be uncomfortable or embarrassed about. You've done more than just fall asleep on me before" Paul joked with a chuckle and watched as she blushed.

"Paul, Aiden is right there"

"He's not even paying attention to us anymore and he doesn't know what I mean. Besides I think it's the closest we have been since we got married" Paul wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes but started laughing after. He loved making her laugh, he loved making her blush and in that moment he knew he was screwed. There was no moving on from Stephanie no matter how many times he made the decision in his head. His heart had different plans.

"What's so funny?" Aiden asked with a confused look on his face.

"Just something your da-" Stephanie stopped herself and Paul sat there shocked that she almost told Aiden he was his dad. "Just something Paul did"

"I didn't see him do anything" Aiden replied shaking his head oblivious to what Stephanie had almost said.

"That's because you weren't paying attention" Paul said with a laugh.

"I was too" Aiden replied before turning his attention back to his toys and Paul just chuckled at him. He couldn't help but have hope that Stephanie would really tell Aiden about him soon. Especially if she wasn't careful and just came out and said it. Maybe just maybe she was starting to realize he wasn't going anywhere. He was going to cling on to that hope at least.

* * *

After Paul had spent time with Aiden up until him and Stephanie had to leave for Shane's he decided to head home and get a shower. He hadn't got to that morning because of where he fell asleep at Stephanie's and he wanted to spend as much time with Aiden as possible. So when he had walked through the door to his apartment that was the first thing he wanted to do but he was interrupted by his cellphone ringing. Now he had been sitting on his couch for a while now talking to his best friend. Who by the way found it funny that he had fell asleep at Stephanie's and Shane had found them this morning.

"What happened to moving on Paul?" Shawn asked laughing hysterically.

"Shut up Shawn before I hang this phone up and ignore you for a while"

"You couldn't last without talking to me"

"Really? Want to test that theory out?"

"You couldn't do it but I'll move on to another subject since that one is so sensitive to you" Shawn joked and Paul rolled his eyes even though Shawn couldn't see him. "So I was talking to Becca about us coming to see you sometime this week before Christmas so we can give you and Aiden the presents we bought you if you want us to anyway."

"Of course I do and the guest room is all yours for now. Soon it will be converted into Aiden's room when Steph finally allows him to start staying here and then I don't know where you will be sleeping when you do stay here. Anyway you didn't have to buy me anything for Christmas, I didn't buy you anything"

"Seriously?" Shawn asked his voice rising slightly and Paul laughed.

"Isn't Christmas about giving instead of receiving?"

"Screw that I want to receive something" Shawn replied with a laugh and Paul laughed along with him.

"I'm kidding Shawn. I bought you and Becca something for Christmas"

"So are we going to get to meet Aiden to give him his Christmas gift?" Shawn asked as Paul sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He really didn't see that happening because he hadn't even told Stephanie that Shawn knew. Also he was afraid to tell her because she might go off on him and they were finally getting along.

"Probably not. Steph doesn't know that you even know about Aiden. If I tell her things will probably be bad between us again and she probably wouldn't allow it anyway" Paul replied honestly. Shawn was his best friend and he wasn't going to keep anything from him.

"I would suggest getting it over with and tell her. The longer you keep it from her and she somehow finds out well she will be pissed off more than what she would be now. If things go well then maybe you could see if I could meet him?" Shawn asked while Paul thought it over. He really would like Shawn to meet Aiden and Shawn did have a point. "I mean he's practically my nephew and I'd like to see what he's like."

"I know but hell my family doesn't even know about him"

"Wow Paul you really need to talk to her"

"I know. I just hate getting on her bad side" He knew he was going have to talk to her though. He hated keeping this from his family and now Shawn wanted to meet Aiden. She would probably get pissed but it was important things they needed to talk about. Hopefully she would get over it soon when he did piss her off.

* * *

After dinner was over Stephanie felt exhausted and just wanted to go home. Also she wanted to avoid the questions that Marissa kept asking about Paul because Shane had run home to confess to his wife what had happened. She had wanted to kill him well up until she found out the real reason she was invited over for dinner. She had found out that Marissa was six weeks pregnant and she was going to be an Aunt. Aiden would have a cousin to play with and she warned Shane that she was probably going to let him or her get away with everything just like he did with Aiden. She was very excited but it was to be kept secret because they apparently wanted to surprise Vince and Linda at Christmas with the news. It was going to be hard to keep the secret but she could do it.

"Mommy can I stay with Uncle Shane?" Aiden asked as Stephanie went to put his jacket on for them to leave.

"You will have to ask him" Stephanie replied and Aiden looked over at Shane. He stuck out his lip and gave him puppy dog eyes.

"Now how can I say no to that face?" Shane asked and Aiden jumped up and down excited that he was going to spend time with his Uncle Shane. "Are you okay with it Steph?"

"Yeah I'm fine with it. It's been a while since you two have seen each other anyway" Stephanie replied laying his jacket back down "come give me a hug and kiss because mommy is going to go."

"I love you mommy" Aiden said running into her arms and wrapping his arms around her neck before giving her a kiss.

"I love you too baby. Be good for Shane and Marissa okay?" Stephanie asked standing up and Aiden nodded his head. "If you need me for anything call me."

"I will" Shane said getting up and walking her to the front door. "Remember do not tell a soul about the baby."

"I won't and you don't tell anyone else about me and Paul falling asleep on the couch together. Make sure your wife doesn't either" Stephanie replied poking her finger into his chest.

"Okay, Okay. Be careful"

"I will" Stephanie replied stepping out the door and giving a wave before heading over to her car and unlocking the door. As soon as she was in she put her purse over into the passenger seat and went to start the car but she was interrupted by her ringing cellphone. She reached into her purse and didn't bother checking the I.D before answering.

"Hello" Stephanie answered.

"Hey are you busy?" She heard Paul's voice and immediately smiled.

"No actually I'm not. I just got done with dinner at Shane's house"

"I was uh wondering if I could come over and talk to you about something"

"Well I'm not at home. I'm actually sitting in my car in Shane's driveway about to leave. I could stop by your apartment since I'm already out if that would be better" Stephanie suggested feeling curious about what he wanted to talk to her about that he didn't want to do over the phone.

"Yeah that will work"

"Okay well I'll be there soon"

"See you soon" Paul replied before she hung up the phone and started her car. He sounded a little nervous on the phone so hopefully whatever it was wasn't bad. She couldn't help but start feeling a little nervous herself but she composed herself and drove off in the direction to Paul's apartment.

It didn't take long for her to reach Paul's apartment building and she made her way inside to his apartment number. When she made it to his door she knocked and within seconds he was already opening the door.

"Hey where is Aiden?" Paul asked stepping aside so she could come in.

"He wanted to spend the night with Shane so I let him since they hadn't seen each other in a couple of days" Stephanie replied walking in and Paul shut the door behind her.

"Do you want anything to drink or anything?" Paul asked nervously and she shook her head no before they started walking into the living room.

"You seem nervous" Stephanie replied as she heard him take a deep breath. She was starting to wonder if she needed to sit down for this.

"I am nervous but I want to be honest with you about something"

"Well spit it out already because you're starting to make me nervous" Stephanie replied with a nervous chuckle and she watched him take a seat on the couch. So she went over and sat down next to him.

"I guess I'm going to do what you suggested and just spit it out. I told Shawn about Aiden" Paul said looking at her nervously. "I did it the night I found out about him before I came to talk to you and you told me you didn't want anyone knowing."

"Oh" Stephanie replied as he looked at her strange. She didn't know really know what else to say because it was kind of a surprise. She didn't know how to feel about it. Part of her wanted to be pissed but then again it was before she told him that she didn't want anyone knowing.

"Shawn hasn't breathed a word to anyone about it and he won't. I mean back when you and I were together he never told anyone and still hasn't. You can trust him just please don't be mad" Paul said taking her hand into his as she sat there in silence just staring at him. "I needed someone to talk to just like you do with your best friend"

"Paul I'm not mad" Stephanie finally replied "I won't lie I'm a little irritated and scared but I think I can trust Shawn. I trusted him back then and nobody ever found out about us."

"Oh thank God" Paul said and Stephanie couldn't help but chuckle at his apparent relief.

"Was that it?"

"Well Shawn told me he bought Aiden a Christmas gift and he wants to meet him"

"I don't know Paul" Stephanie replied shaking her head. Paul being in Aiden's life was already scary for her just because of her doubts but now he wanted to bring his friends into Aiden's life. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet even though her doubts about Paul were slowly starting to fade.

"Please Steph. I'll make sure Shawn makes sure not to mention to Aiden that I'm his dad and I'll make him be on his best behavior. He's the only person right now that I'm begging you to let meet him because I know telling my family right now isn't an option or letting him meet his Aunt and other grandparents" Paul pleaded and Stephanie stared into his eyes and before she knew it the words just spilled out her mouth.

"Okay but you have to make sure Shawn doesn't call you Aiden's dad. Also no bad language and I'll just drop by with Aiden whenever Shawn will be here that way Aiden won't find it strange that you brought your friend to meet him." She was sure Aiden probably wouldn't pick up on it anyway but just in case it was better to be safe than sorry. Letting Aiden meet Shawn one time surely wouldn't hurt would it? If for some reason Paul did run out on them then meeting one of his friends one time wouldn't hurt him like it would if Paul left. God she just hoped she wasn't letting her feelings for Paul affect her judgment on what is best for Aiden.

"Oh thank you, thank you" Paul replied pulling her into a hug. Stephanie closed her eyes and relaxed into his arms breathing in the scent of his cologne. She never wanted to let go even though she knew they would have to break out of the hug eventually. She wondered what he would do if she kissed him. Maybe she could work some more kissing into their storyline just so she could kiss him without him knowing how she was feeling. Oh God she was starting to become pathetic.


	13. Chapter 13

So the first part might suck because this is my first time writing something like that but I hope you enjoy it! I'm trying to step a little out of my comfort zone and try new things. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter as always!

* * *

He moaned softly as her soft lips kissed his chest and he brought his hand to the back of her head tangling his fingers in her silky strands of hair. Her lips moved further down his chest, her tongue flicking out to taste him. She was teasing him and it took everything in him not to push her head down to the place he really wanted to feel her hot wet mouth. But he didn't want to rush her and cause her to stop so he closed his eyes instead feeling her move down his body. His body was on fire, his heart beating against his chest and desire coursed through him. He had been wanting this for some time now and it was finally happening. He wasn't sure exactly what had led to these events but he sure in the hell wasn't complaining.

He let out a low growl once he felt her hand around his hard length and she started to stroke him slowly. It felt like it ended as soon as it started though. He opened his eyes when he felt her stop and looked down to see she was looking at him now with a sexy little smirk. She knew she was torturing him. Her eyes were full of burning desire and it turned him on even more to see that she wanted this just as much as he did. Her tongued darted out licking her lips before she leaned down placing a small kiss on the tip of his hard length.

"Steph" he moaned gripping his hand in her hair and felt her hot breath against him and then….

"Wake the fuck up" Paul heard a male voice and then something cool and soft hit him in the face. What the fuck? He opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of his best friend.

"Go away" Paul growled rolling over to his side. Fucking Shawn interrupting his dream just as it was getting to the good part. He had been having these dreams constantly about Stephanie for the last couple of nights now. He was constantly thinking about her during the day and now she was invading his dreams too.

"No. Time to get up" Shawn replied smacking him on the side of his head with a pillow again.

"Giving you a key to the apartment was a mistake" Paul groaned closing his eyes.

"Well if you hadn't Becca and I would have been outside waiting for you forever to wake up and let us in" Shawn replied as Paul tried to drown him out and go back to sleep. Hopefully he could dream about the part that had been interrupted but that didn't seem like it was going to happen because he felt the pillow smack against his head again, harder this time.

"Fine! I'm awake and I'll be out in a second"

"Don't make me come back in here" Shawn warned "I'll be in the living room with Becca."

"Fine" Paul replied rolling his eyes and rolled back over on his back as he heard the bedroom door shut. He let out a frustrated sigh feeling the hardness and aching down below from his dream. It looked like he was going to be taking care of that himself again in the shower.

Sitting up in bed he rubbed his eyes and threw the blanket off of him before standing up to put his pants on. He grabbed his cellphone off the nightstand and checked it for any missed calls or texts but none from the person he wanted right now. He would have to call her soon though and let her know that Shawn was here so she could bring Aiden. Being around Stephanie had been hard lately though because he found himself wanting to kiss her or almost blurting out how he felt. Just yesterday as they left the arena he had almost kissed her so he wasn't sure how today was going to go. He needed to stop thinking about that though because his attention needed to be fully on Aiden today and make sure Shawn didn't mess anything up.

"Paul!" Shawn shouted breaking him out of his thoughts. He slipped his phone in the pocket of his pants and made it over to his bedroom door and opened it.

"I'm up" Paul replied coming into the living room to see Shawn sitting on the couch with Rebecca and he was flipping through channels on the television.

"About time. I'm ready to meet Aiden"

"I'll call Steph as soon as I'm out of the shower"

"You can wait until later to take a shower"

"I still have to wait a while to make sure they are awake"

"Paul it's almost noon I'm sure they are up." Damn. Had he really slept that long? He hadn't even noticed the time when he had checked his cellphone. He had just been checking to see if he had missed any calls or texts from Stephanie.

"Fine can I at least get a bottle of water?" Paul asked walking away from him to the kitchen not waiting for a reply. It didn't look like he was going to get his shower this morning. Shawn was annoying today or maybe it was just because he was so frustrated.

Once he reached the refrigerator he pulled it open and grabbed a bottle of water. He walked over to the counter and leaned up against it as he took a drink of his water. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket again to call Stephanie and he suddenly felt nervous just staring at the phone. He really hoped Shawn would be on his best behavior and make sure not to call Paul dad to Aiden. Shawn had promised that he would do everything Paul asked when he had told him Stephanie agreed to let Shawn meet Aiden. Now he just had to make sure Shawn followed through and everything should go smoothly. If it didn't well **he** would have to endure Stephanie's wrath, not Shawn. Taking a breath, he dialed her number and put the phone to his ear and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello" Stephanie answered and he smiled upon hearing her voice.

"Hey" Paul replied sitting his bottle of water on the counter. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. Aiden decided to be a big ball of energy today" Stephanie replied with a chuckle.

"Well I just wanted to call and let you know that Shawn is here. So are you still up to bringing Aiden to meet him?"

"Yeah uh I'll get Aiden ready and we will be over soon" Stephanie replied as he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"I'll see you soon then" Paul said hanging up the phone and grabbed his bottle of water before heading back into the living room to let Shawn know they would be there soon.

"So are you going to call them now?" Shawn asked looking at him as he came into the living room and flopped down in a chair next to the couch.

"I already did. They will be here soon" Paul replied taking another drink of his water and he watched Rebecca stand up from the couch.

"Then I'm going to get going" Rebecca said grabbing her purse. "Stephanie knows nothing about me knowing about him and she doesn't know me very well. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable or cause problems for you Paul."

"Are you sure? You don't have to leave. I'm sure with you being Shawn's wife it would make sense to her why you know"

"I'm sure. Besides I have friends here that I'm dying to see so you guys have fun and let me know when they leave"

"Okay well be careful and text me" Shawn replied standing up and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I will" Rebecca replied and made her way out of the living room. Once the door to the apartment shut Paul looked over at Shawn who had took his seat back on the couch.

"Remember, do not mention to Aiden I'm his dad and do not and I repeat do not use bad language in front of him" Paul said sternly.

"Look at you going into daddy mode" Shawn laughed while Paul just shook his head at him.

"I mean it Shawn."

"I know and I won't do any of those" Shawn assured him before returning his attention back to the television and started flipping through channels again.

"I'm nervous" Paul admitted before taking a drink of his water again.

"Don't be. I already told you I won't do anything to mess this up"

"It's not entirely that" Paul replied staring at the television as Shawn kept flipping through the channels. He wished he would just find something to watch already.

"What else are you nervous about?"

"I almost kissed Stephanie last night when we were leaving. I walked over to her car with her because we were talking about Aiden and when we went to say our goodbyes I almost leaned down to kiss her goodbye" Paul said noticing the channels weren't being changed on the television anymore. He looked over at Shawn who was looking at him.

"You just need to tell her how you feel already. It's apparent you're not moving on so that is the only other option here Paul"

"I find myself almost blurting out to her the way I feel lately too. I think you're right though. I think I'm going to have to tell her and just hope it doesn't majorly affect anything between us. Maybe if she doesn't feel the same way then she can let me down and I can try moving on. Not today though because I'm already nervous about you and Aiden meeting" Paul replied running a hand through his hair and Shawn just nodded his head at him.

"I think that's a good idea and if things don't go the way you want then I'll be here for you"

"Thanks. I know I can always count on you" Paul said giving a small smile before returning his attention back to the television. Hopefully his heart wouldn't be crushed too badly because he was almost positive it wasn't going to go the way he wanted it to.

* * *

Stephanie held Aiden's hand as they walked across the parking lot to Paul's apartment building. She tried to hurry them along as the wind blew making her teeth chatter. It was really cold today and she didn't want Aiden catching a cold. Hell she didn't even really want to come but she had already told Paul that Aiden could meet Shawn. She was just so nervous about it though and she was afraid she had only agreed to this because she was getting caught up in her feelings for Paul. That couldn't happen and she had to make sure that it didn't because Aiden was the most important thing to her.

"Where are we going mommy?" Aiden asked again. The whole way there he had kept asking over and over where they were going.

"I told you it's a surprise" Stephanie chuckled at his impatience. He had been asking about Paul since he had woken up and she thought it was probably because he's used to Paul being there a lot now.

When they finally made it inside the building they headed straight for the elevator and Stephanie let Aiden push the button. It didn't take long before the doors opened and they stepped inside and she pushed the button for Paul's floor.

"Are we almost there?" Aiden asked impatiently swinging their joined hands.

"Yes we are almost there. I promise" Stephanie replied with a smile as the elevator doors opened again and they stepped out into the hall. She led Aiden down the hallway and took a breath to calm her racing heart as they made it to Paul's door.

They stopped at his door and Stephanie stood there for a couple of seconds just staring at the door while Aiden just looked up at her. Finally, she composed herself and tried shaking the nervous feeling away and lifted her hand and knocked on his door. It seemed they were standing there for a while but in reality it only was maybe a minute before the door opened.

"Hey" Paul greeted them and Aiden's face lit up.

"Paul!" Aiden shouted excitedly letting go of Stephanie's hand and Paul crouched down to Aiden's level to catch him in his arms as Aiden ran to him. Stephanie just stood in the doorway watching them with a smile on her face. It warmed her heart to watch the display in front of her.

"You can come in Steph" Paul said getting up from his position as he kept hold of Aiden and moved away from the door to let her in.

"Thanks" Stephanie replied coming into the apartment and shutting the door behind her. "He has been asking about you all morning."

"Is that right?" Paul asked looking at Aiden and he nodded his head. "I have a friend over. Do you want to meet him?"

"Sure" Aiden replied with a shrug and Paul carried him off to the living room. Stephanie followed behind them and her eyes immediately fell on Shawn when she made into the living room. He was sitting on the couch leaning forward with a smile on his face as Paul put Aiden down.

"Aiden this is my best friend Shawn. Shawn this is Aiden" Paul said introducing them.

"Hey Aiden. It's nice to meet you"

"It's nice to meet you too" Aiden replied with a smile before he went to sit in a chair beside of the couch.

"Hey Steph" Shawn greeted her with a smile also "It's good to see you again. You haven't tried getting in anyone else's car lately, have you?"

"It's good to see you again too and no" Stephanie replied feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. Of course he had to remember that.

"Shawn knock it off" Paul said and Shawn let out a laugh.

"I was only teasing her. I wasn't trying to be mean."

"It's fine Paul. I know how Shawn is, I just wished he didn't remember that about me" Stephanie replied with an embarrassed chuckle. At least he wasn't an asshole to her over keeping Aiden a secret from Paul. That was another thing she had been nervous about but Shawn seemed to be as laid back as he usually was.

"So how do you want to do this" Paul whispered as he came over and stood beside of her. "Do you want Shawn to give me the gift to give to Aiden so he can watch Aiden unwrap it or do you want Shawn just to give it to him?"

"It would probably be better for you to give the gift to Aiden" Stephanie whispered back before Paul went over to Shawn and whispered what she assumed was the plan to him.

"I'll be right back" Shawn announced getting up from the couch and walking away from them down the hallway.

"You can sit down Steph. Make yourself comfortable" Paul said motioning towards the couch before he walked over and sat down. She walked over to the couch and sat down beside of him feeling less nervous than before. So far things were going good, she just hoped they continued going smoothly. "I'm sorry for Shawn teasing you earlier."

"Don't worry about it Paul, really. If I remember correctly, you did the same thing not too long ago" Stephanie replied as he stretched his arm out and let it rest behind her on the couch. "I just wished I had something to tease you two about."

"Well Shawn was tipsy and on the car ride home he sang really loud and quite horribly so there is something you could tease him with about that night. Me on the other hand, I was a perfect angel."

"Oh really?" Stephanie asked arching her eyebrow and he leaned closer to her. His face inches from hers and she swallowed thickly feeling her heart start to accelerate.

"Yes really" Paul replied in almost a whisper and then she jumped back when she heard someone loudly clear their throat. She turned her head around to see Shawn staring at them with Aiden's gift in his hands.

"Sorry didn't want to interrupt but I didn't want to stand here feeling like an idiot either" Shawn said with a laugh as he walked around the couch and Paul got up from the couch taking the gift from Shawn.

"You weren't interrupting anything" Stephanie replied quickly trying to calm her racing heart. She didn't have time to see Shawn's reaction to what she had said though as her attention immediately went to Aiden when she heard him gasp. His eyes were wide as he looked at the gift Paul was now holding. It was like he already knew the gift was for him.

"This is for you Aiden" Paul said walking over to him as Aiden kept his gaze on the gift.

"It is?" Aiden asked with excitement in his voice and Stephanie couldn't help but smile at his reaction.

"Yeah. Do you want to open it?"

"Yeah!" Aiden replied nodding his head and Paul chuckled and handed the gift to him.

"What do you say Aiden?" Stephanie asked as she watched him tear through the wrapping paper.

"Thank you" Aiden replied with his attention still fully on his gift.

Once he had ripped all the wrapped paper off he stood up excited and showed his gift off. It was a remote controlled car that Stephanie knew he would have fun playing with.

"Do you like it?" Paul asked and he nodded his head. "Let's find some batteries to put in it and then we will play with it. How does that sound?"

"Fun" Aiden replied and they all laughed.

* * *

A couple of hours later Stephanie sat on the couch running her fingers through Aiden's hair as he slept peacefully. He had climbed up on the couch and put his head in her lap and drifted off to sleep. It was kind of weird considering how earlier this morning he had so much energy when he had woken up. She was sure that all had been run out though as Paul and Shawn had played with him. Hopefully this little nap he was taking wouldn't keep him up past his bedtime.

"You're still playing with that?" Paul asked with a laugh and she looked at Shawn was standing over to the side of the television playing with Aiden's remote controlled car.

"It's fun" Shawn replied with a laugh of his own. Stephanie chuckled and leaned her head back against the couch feeling relaxed. Aiden meeting Shawn had gone really good and Shawn hadn't said anything inappropriate or accidently called Paul dad to Aiden. She could finally stop worrying and just relax.

"Hopefully my son will get to take it home with him because right now it looks like you might try stealing it" Paul said still watching Shawn.

"You can't steal something you bought" Shawn laughed "but no I'm not taking this away from him."

"No you won't because you know I'll kick your ass."

"Ha! You can try. Oh by the way thanks Steph for letting me meet Aiden" Shawn said looking over at her "It means a lot."

"You're welcome" Stephanie replied with a smile.

"He looks so much like Paul but thank God he looks a lot like you too."

"Hey what are you trying to say about me?" Paul asked playfully punching him on the arm.

"Exactly the way it sounded" Shawn laughed moving away from Paul as he went to punch him on the arm again.

"I happen to think he's very good looking" Stephanie blurted out without even thinking and then she looked down feeling the heat in her cheeks. She couldn't believe she had just said that out loud.

"You have to say that though because you have a child with him."

"No she's saying that because she knows that it's the truth" Paul replied and she raised her head a little to see the smirk on Paul's face.

"Yeah keep believing that if it makes you feel better. I'll be right back I have a phone call to make" Shawn replied putting the remote down to the toy car and walked away.

Stephanie put her head back down just watching her fingers as they ran through Aiden's hair. God she felt so embarrassed and she wasn't sure how to dig her way out of what she said. At least they hadn't teased her about it, yet anyway. This was probably a good opportunity for her to leave so she couldn't be embarrassed any further. Besides she needed to get home since Aiden was asleep because she really had no business staying there even though she did have feelings for Paul. They weren't dating.

"So I think I'm going to get Aiden home since he is asleep" Stephanie said after clearing her throat.

"Are you sure?" Paul asked and she looked up at him and nodded her head still embarrassed and hardly able to make eye contact. "Well let me carry Aiden to the car for you."

"Okay."

Once they made it outside to her car Stephanie opened the back door for Paul so he could put Aiden in and then she went over to her door. She wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay warm as she watched Paul put Aiden in carefully not to wake up him and then buckled him into his seat. When he was done he shut the door as quietly as he could but enough to make sure it was shut good.

"Cold?" Paul asked her when he turned around to see her shaking a little. She nodded her head as her teeth started to chatter a little. It felt even colder than earlier when her and Aiden had arrived. "Here."

She watched as he came closer and unzipped the front of his jacket. Then he pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his chest feeling the heat of his chest against hers and relaxed against him inhaling the scent of his cologne. She wasn't sure why he had done what he had instead of just letting her get into the car but right now she didn't care. This was like heaven to her especially as he ran his hands up and down her back sending waves of pleasure through her and she bit down on her bottom lip enjoying the moment.

"Thank you for today. It really did mean a lot" Paul said softly.

"You're welcome" Stephanie replied back just as softly before she raised her head up off his chest and smiled at him. Then she leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she pulled back she looked into his eyes for a moment and then let her eyes travel down to his lips. Before she even knew what she was doing she closed her eyes and leaned over and pressed her lips against his.


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you for the reviews they are very much appreciated :) Paul's perspective is a little shorter than usual but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! If anyone here follows my story Back Around I'm working on the next chapter to it but I'm having a little bit of a writer's block but I'll have another chapter out as soon as I can.

* * *

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck as he finally began to return the kiss and pulled her even closer against him. His lips were soft and warm against hers and even though they had kissed a couple of times before this kiss, this one was different. They weren't doing this in front of audience or cameras and this wasn't part of their storyline. It was intimate and a private moment, well as private as the parking lot of his apartment building could be. Still they weren't doing it for anyone else but themselves. She was lost in the moment feeling the warmth of his body against hers and even though her hands probably felt like a block of ice she could care less because the rest of her body felt like it was on fire. Her heart was beating frantically against her chest as he deepened the kiss and she felt him back her up against the side of the car. She wasn't sure exactly how long they had been standing there kissing but they eventually broke from their kiss. The cold wind blew against her face and she felt something wet and she opened her eyes to see little flurries of snow had begun to fall somewhere in the time they had been kissing.

The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot brought her attention from the snow back to Paul. He was still holding her close but he was staring at her maybe waiting for some kind of a reaction or explanation. She just stood there though and looked away from him trying to calm her racing heart as she realized exactly what she had done. There was no denying how she felt about him now.

"Steph" Paul said softly causing her to look back at him. She unwrapped her arms from his neck and let them slide down and rest between them on his chest.

"I'd better go" Stephanie replied trying to turn around but he didn't let go of her and she was stuck there letting her gaze fall to his chest. She felt stupid for acting on impulse like that.

"So we're not going to talk about what happened?"

"I kissed you and it's something I shouldn't have done" Stephanie replied turning her head to look in the backseat of her car to Aiden who was still sleeping. "I have to go. Aiden is probably getting cold."

"Fine. You're probably right and I don't want him getting cold" Paul said letting go of her and stepping back. Once his body was no longer up against her she instantly felt cold but she didn't give herself time to care. She stepped away from the car door and opened it. "But we're going to talk about this later."

She turned around to tell him there wasn't anything to talk about but he was already walking in the direction of his apartment building. So she just got in her car and shut the door behind her before putting on her seatbelt and started her car. Then she pulled out of the parking lot and turned on the heat in the car hoping it would warm up quickly. As the first traffic light she came to started to change from yellow to red she slowed down until she came to a stop at the light. That's when she realized how badly she had screwed up in kissing Paul like she had. Yes, she had wanted to do it and yes it had felt amazing but things weren't so simple for them. He was the man that had walked out on her years ago without a word, he was a wrestler which made him off limits and he was Aiden's father. If there was something that could actually between them again how could she know he wouldn't just think of it as a fling and run off again? That would leave her and Aiden devastated. That was one thing she didn't want her son feeling, he really had started to become attached to Paul. Even if he didn't run off she didn't see how they could have a relationship and hide it from everyone again because that's what they would have to do. Her father wouldn't approve of it which meant they would have to be in a secret relationship again. Those were the things she should have thought about before all of this though and now it was too late. She wanted to hit her head up against the steering wheel for being so stupid but that would be even more stupid. So instead she tried pushing the thoughts away and started driving again once the traffic light changed to green. All she needed to do right now was concentrate on getting her and Aiden home safely.

After she arrived home and put Aiden in his bed to nap a little longer she decided to sit down to watch some tv. It didn't really seem to help though because the only thing she kept doing was replaying their kiss in her head. Even after all the reasons she gave herself on the way home about why there couldn't be anything between them. She was nervous to even see him again now but she didn't have a choice. He had already said they would talk later about it and he would definitely be coming back to see Aiden. Maybe not today though considering Shawn was in town staying with him so it would buy her some time.

Turning her attention back to the tv she realized the show she was watching was already half way through and she had no idea what was even going on. So she flipped through the channels hoping to find something else that would grab her attention and keep her mind off of Paul. Thankfully she got lucky and found one of her favorite movies on and she had only missed maybe ten minutes of it. She tossed the remote beside of her and got up from the couch to make a bag of popcorn to go with her movie. On the way to the kitchen she was interrupted by a knock on the door though and part of her was happy to have someone to distract her but when she opened the door she instantly felt nervous.

"Can I come in?" Paul asked when she hadn't said anything or moved aside like she usually did to let him in.

"Sure" Stephanie replied and stepped away from the door to let him in. It was a surprise to her that he was here especially when she had left his apartment not too long ago. Plus, she really thought she had time to avoid talking to him about the kiss since Shawn was in town visiting. Well it was pointless to make popcorn when she would no longer be watching the movie so after Paul walked in she headed back to the living room to sit down.

She sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote next to her and lowered the volume on the television as Paul took off his jacket. Then he sat down next to her on the couch and laid his jacket on the empty cushion beside of him. She just watched him feeling more nervous by the silence.

"I've been thinking the whole way over about how to say this to you but I think the best way is just to come out and say it" Paul said turning towards her finally breaking the silence between them. "I have feelings for you again Steph."

"Paul- "

"I realized it the night of Armageddon and I didn't want to say anything because I honestly thought you would never feel that way about me again. Then you kissed me so I need to know if you feel something or if you really thought the kiss was a mistake"

"No because I have feelings for you too" Stephanie replied before licking her lips "but I don't just have me to worry about if we tried to be together and it didn't work out. I have our little boy to think about and if things didn't work out between us how am I supposed to know that you would still come around for him? How am I supposed to know it wouldn't be like last time? I can't have you just leave him behind hurt and confused. He has already become attached to you."

"If things didn't work out between us Stephanie then we could still be civil to one another enough for me to see Aiden. I'm not going to leave him behind just because I couldn't make it work with you. I love my son more than anything and he is my top priority. No matter what I will take care of him and be here for him. Yes, I was a coward in my past with you but I've changed and surely you can see that. All I'm asking is for a chance with you but if you don't think it's a good idea then I can understand and respect that."

"What about my family and the people we work with? We would have to keep our relationship a secret" Stephanie replied standing up from the couch and started to pace the room trying to calm her nerves and racing thoughts.

"We could date a while and keep it a secret while we see if things will work between us. If it does then we can tell your family"

"You could get fired and I would be in so much trouble Paul"

"That is going to happen no matter what Steph. We have to tell your family about me being Aiden's father and I don't see that going too well. Unless you have changed your mind about telling Aiden the truth at some point" Paul replied making her stop and look at him. He was right, even if they didn't date there would still be a possibility of him getting fired. She wasn't sure what would happen to her but it wouldn't be good.

"No I haven't changed my mind but I'm not sure about a relationship with us" Stephanie said crossing her arms and letting out a frustrated sigh. Then she watched as he got up from the couch and came over to her.

"Listen we don't have to rush into a relationship. Just me a chance and go on a date with me" Paul replied tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She stared into his eyes that were giving her a pleading look. This was what she had been wanting and even though she had her doubts she already knew what her answer was.

"Okay" Stephanie replied with a small nod and then she felt his lips on hers once again.

* * *

A couple of days later Paul pulled into Stephanie's driveway feeling excited. It was Christmas morning and he was excited to spend it with Aiden and Stephanie. Ever since his kiss with Stephanie he had been basically on cloud nine and they would be having their date soon. He felt like he already got everything he wanted for Christmas, the only thing that would make it better was if Aiden knew that he was his father. Right now though he was just focusing on what he was lucky enough to get.

Paul grabbed the bag of presents out of the car and shut the door. He walked up the driveway feeling the chill of the wind and onto the porch where he knocked lightly on the front door. It didn't take long before Stephanie appeared with a smile on her face and he returned it before she stepped aside to let him in.

"Merry Christmas" Paul said after walking in and shutting the door behind him.

"Merry Christmas" Stephanie replied "Aiden is in the living room. I wouldn't let him open anything until you got here so he's just sitting by the tree staring at the presents."

"Well aren't you just mean" Paul teased with a chuckle.

"This is your first Christmas with him so I thought maybe you would want to see him open all of his presents. Next time I'll just let him start ripping them open then" Stephanie shrugged with a smile on her face.

"Thank you for waiting on me" Paul replied in a serious tone. The look on Aiden's face when he was opening his presents was the thing he really didn't want to miss. "So did you get me anything for Christmas?"

"What were you wanting?" Stephanie asked in a flirty tone. This was how they had been when nobody else had been around to hear them or watch them. They had been flirting with each other every chance they got.

"Hmm… there is so many things" Paul replied tilting his head slightly pretending to think "I'll take a kiss."

Stephanie chuckled before coming closer to him and pressing her lips against his. The kiss didn't last too long though because they didn't want Aiden walking in and finding them. He could just imagine Aiden going to his grandparents and telling them how he saw his mommy kissing Paul.

"Mommy" Aiden called sounding annoyed.

"I guess we better get in there" Paul said and Stephanie nodded her head.

They walked into the living room and Paul spotted Aiden sitting at the Christmas tree in his pajamas holding a present. His blonde hair was a mess and he still looked tired even though there was an excited look on his face.

"Merry Christmas little man" Paul said going over next to him and taking a seat on the floor.

"Merry Christmas. Did you bring me presents?" Aiden asked eyeing the bag that Paul had sat in front of him.

"Yes I did" Paul chuckled reaching into the bag and pulling all but one out.

"Can I open them?" Aiden asked looking at him and then to Stephanie "Please?"

"Give me a minute to get the camera. I forgot it and then you can open them" Stephanie replied walking off down the hallway while Aiden let out a groan. Paul listened as Stephanie pulled out a drawer and heard rustling. After a minute or so Stephanie came back into the living room holding the camera.

"Okay you can start now" Stephanie said and Aiden wasted no time in ripping the wrapping paper off the present in his lap.

When Aiden had unwrapped every present that was his Paul helped Stephanie clean up the best he could. His eyes were still trying to adjust from all the flashing from the camera. Aiden had no problem with it though it seemed because he was playing with a little bit of everything he had opened. After they were done doing cleaning Paul grabbed the bag he brought in off the floor and sat down next to Stephanie on the couch. He turned to her and pulled out the small gift he had bought for her.

"This is for you" Paul said handing it to her.

"You didn't have to buy me anything"

"I know but I wanted to" Paul replied as she smiled and started to unwrap it to reveal a small black box.

"Wow Paul they're beautiful" Stephanie said after opening the box to find a pair of diamond earrings.

"So you like them?" Paul asked and she nodded her head.

"I'll wear them on our date" Stephanie whispered as Aiden came over to them.

"What is that?" Aiden asked looking at the box in Stephanie's hands.

"It's diamond earrings. It's mommy's Christmas present"

"Oh" Aiden replied uninterested and went back over to his toys. Stephanie just smiled and shook her head at Aiden before closing the lid on the earrings.

"I have to say this is probably the best Christmas I've had in a long time" Paul said watching Aiden play with his toys. He was sure life couldn't get any better than what it was right now.

Two hours later and Stephanie was sitting in a recliner at her parent's house drinking coffee and Aiden was sitting in Vince's lap on the couch with Linda next to him while they watched a Christmas movie. They were waiting for Shane and Marissa to arrive so they could start opening presents. Aiden had been impatient of course but somehow Vince had convinced him to sit down and watch a movie before they opened presents. Stephanie was in her own little world thinking about Paul and how sweet it was of him to buy her a present for Christmas.

"We're here" Stephanie heard Shane call as the front door opened and shut.

"It's about time" Vince replied as Aiden jumped down from his lap. He knew it was time to open presents so he was no longer interested in the movie.

"Sorry but I'll explain why in a just few minutes" Shane said putting down the presents on the table in front of the couch while Marissa came over and hugged everyone wishing them a merry Christmas.

"Okay Aiden time to open presents. Do you want to open mine and Grandma's presents first?" Vince asked going over to the Christmas tree and Aiden followed behind him.

"Oh come on he's not even going to like mine and Marissa's gifts after opening yours first" Shane said as Vince handed Aiden one of his presents.

"He will too. He will just like mine better" Vince chuckled and Shane rolled his eyes.

After Aiden was done opening his presents and Stephanie was done taking her pictures Linda gently grabbed her arm.

"Come with me to the kitchen" Linda said quietly before releasing her arm and headed to the kitchen away from everyone. Stephanie followed behind her curious as to what her mother was wanting. "Do you need another cup of coffee?"

"Yes please" Stephanie replied sitting her cup down on the counter and Linda refilled her cup.

"Are you seeing someone?" Linda asked putting the coffee pot back in its place and turning to look at her.

"No" Stephanie lied taking a sip of her coffee.

"You seem happier and you looked like you were in your own little world earlier. Plus, you had this smile on your face"

"I'm just in a good mood" Stephanie shrugged and sit her coffee down.

"So this has nothing to do with a guy named Paul that Aiden has mentioned a couple of times?" Linda asked arching her brow and Stephanie felt her heart rate accelerate. Of course Aiden would mention him. "If this was just some guy I wouldn't have mentioned it but you are in a storyline with Paul Levesque and I'm pretty sure it's the same one Aiden has mentioned."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I watch you two on television Stephanie. I see the way you look at him and I want to know if something is going on because you know you're not supposed to date any of the wrestlers" Linda replied crossing her arms.

"Nothing is going on" Stephanie lied "we have become friends so he has been at my house a couple of times and Aiden has met him."

"Steph- "

"Mom" Stephanie heard Shane call and then she could hear footsteps heading their way. This was one time she was thankful for Shane's interruption. Linda didn't look too pleased about it though but she turned her attention to Shane as he appeared in the kitchen. "Come back into the living room. Marissa and I have something to give you and dad."

"We will talk later" Linda said looking at her before walking over to Shane who was looking at her now with a confused expression. Stephanie just shook her head at him and grabbed her cup of coffee before following them back into the living room.

Once Linda had sat back down on the couch where she was earlier and Stephanie sat back down in her spot Shane pulled out a card.

"This is why we were late this morning" Shane said before handing the card to Linda.

"You were late because you had to stop and get a card?" Vince asked with amusement in his voice.

"Just read the card. Both of you together please" Shane replied as Marissa came to stand next to him in front of Vince and Linda.

Stephanie watched as Linda brought her fingers up to her mouth and looked up at Shane and Marissa with watery eyes.

"You're pregnant?" Linda asked and Marissa nodded her head. Linda smiled and got up from the couch and pulled Marissa into a hug.

"Yeah Marissa had bad morning sickness and that is why we were late"

"Congratulations you two. You are going to be wonderful parents" Vince said getting up and pulling Shane into a hug and gave him a pat on the back. Then once Linda was done hugging Marissa she pulled Shane into a hug as Vince gave Marissa a hug. "Another grandchild. This is the best news."

"What's going on?" Aiden asked coming over to Stephanie and watching everyone hug.

"Uncle Shane and Aunt Marissa are going to have a baby" Stephanie explained as Shane bent down to Aiden's level after he probably heard Aiden's question.

"I'm going to be a daddy and you are going to be a cousin. Are you excited?" Shane asked tickling him a little on his stomach and Aiden laughed.

"Yeah" Aiden nodded his head and then turned to Stephanie and climbed up in her lap. "Mommy?"

"What sweetheart?" Stephanie asked looking down at him.

"Do I have a daddy?" Aiden asked and everyone went silent.


	15. Chapter 15

I've been really busy so I'm sorry it took so long for this update. This chapter is short but I'll make the next chapter longer. I just liked where I left off here at the end and this chapter is more in Paul's perspective since there wasn't much in the last chapter. Thank you guys for your reviews, they are always appreciated and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Stephanie sat frozen in her chair not knowing how to respond. She knew she should tell Aiden that yes he did have a daddy but then he would start asking questions about who his daddy was. There was no way she could tell him the truth about who his dad was with her family standing in the room with them. But the only thing she could do was just tell him the truth that he did have a dad and hope he didn't ask who it was because she didn't want to lie to him. And that was what she would have to do if he asked because she couldn't let her family know the truth right now.

"Yes you have a daddy- "

"Why doesn't mommy tell you about him later though? How about right now you and I play with the train set that grandpa and grandma got you for Christmas?" Shane asked Aiden who nodded his head quickly and slid down off of Stephanie's lap. Stephanie mouthed thank you to Shane before him and Aiden went over to his train set. That was the second time Shane had saved her that day and she was starting to think he deserved some kind of best brother award.

"What are you going to tell him?" Linda asked as Vince walked over to join Shane and Aiden.

"The truth" Stephanie replied pushing her hair behind her ears as Marissa and Linda took a seat on the couch.

"Do you think he may be a little too young to tell him exactly what happened?"

"I'm just going to tell him who his father is and if asks any further questions about where he is I'll just have to dance around the subject"

"I have to say I was no expecting that today. We all knew at some point he would start asking questions though" Linda replied letting out a sigh as she looked over at Aiden.

"Yeah me either" Stephanie murmured wondering how she was going to tell Aiden that Paul was his father. Linda was already on her case about something going on between her and Paul because Aiden had mentioned Paul to Linda. So she was sure if she told Aiden that Paul was his dad everything would come out to her parents. Now she wasn't sure if she should just tell her family first or tell Aiden the truth first. Either way the truth would have to come out eventually it was just the consequences from her family she was the most worried about and not just for her but for Paul too.

As the day progressed and everyone had finished eating dinner Stephanie decided to start taking all of Aiden's Christmas to the car so they could get ready to go home. She was exhausted and nervous for any more questions from Aiden about his daddy even though so far he had seemed to forgotten about it.

"Hey" Stephanie heard Shane come behind her as she loaded Aiden's Christmas gifts in the car.

"Hey" Stephanie replied turning around to see Shane carrying some more of Aiden's gift. "Thanks for earlier."

"You're welcome. I didn't want you to have to get into that today of all days and you looked like you needed some help"

"I did. You saved me twice today just so you know."

"When I did I save you the second time?" Shane asked with a confused look as he handed Stephanie the gifts he was holding.

"You saying that to Aiden was the second time. The first time was when me and mom were in the kitchen when she was insinuating something was going on between me and Paul because Aiden had mentioned him."

"Oh so mom sees it too huh?" Shane asked with a laugh as Stephanie finished loading all of Aiden's stuff and turned to look at Shane.

"There is nothing going on" Stephanie lied crossing her arms. She really hated lying but she wasn't completely sure how Shane would react to the truth. He told her he wouldn't say anything to their parents about how he found Stephanie sleeping on top of Paul but that had been innocent. It could be a different thing if she were to come out and tell Shane that there actually was something going on.

"Whatever you say Steph" Shane replied shaking his head and turned around and headed back inside the house. Maybe she wasn't going to be able to hide what was going on between her and Paul as well this time as she did last time.

* * *

Paul walked on to the porch and knocked on the door. Stephanie had called to let him know they were back from her parent's house so he decided to go back over and spend what was left of Christmas with them. Even though it was almost time for Aiden to go to bed but he wanted as much time as he could get.

"Hey" Stephanie greeted him when she opened the door.

"Hey" Paul replied as she stepped aside for him to come in. "How was everything at your parents?"

"It was good"

"Paul!" Aiden exclaimed coming into the room where they were with a huge grin on his face and then made his way over to Paul and grabbed his hand. "I want to show you what grandpa and grandma got me for Christmas."

"Okay" Paul chuckled lightly and followed Aiden into the living room.

Paul sat down on the couch as Aiden showed him his gifts that we scattered on the floor around him. Every once in a while he would sneak a glance over at Stephanie who had joined him on the couch. She was sitting and staring off into space most of the time, it looked like she had something on her mind.

"Did you have fun with your grandma and grandpa?" Paul asked Aiden who nodded his head.

"Yeah and Uncle Shane and Aunt Marissa. Uncle Shane said he is going to be a daddy"

"He is?" Paul asked looking over at Stephanie who looked a little pale.

"Yeah. They told me a while ago but I had to keep it from mom and dad because they wanted to surprise them with it today"

"Well before long you'll have a cousin to play with" Paul said looking back over at Aiden who didn't really seem all that interested in what he was saying.

"I don't think he cares right now" Stephanie replied with a chuckle "maybe once the baby is here and old enough for him to play with then he'll care more."

"You're probably right"

"How was Christmas with your family?" Stephanie asked turning more towards him on the couch.

"It was good. I just wish you and Aiden could have been there." Hell he wished he could tell his family about her and Aiden but that was something he would have to talk to her about at a later time.

"Me too" Stephanie gave him a smile and looked at Aiden who was still playing with his toys in the floor. He noticed that she had started to chew on her bottom lip which was something she did when she was nervous. It was something he had noticed a couple of times before and she had been kind of acting off since he got there.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Stephanie asked looking back at him.

"Something is bothering you, I can tell. So what is it?" Paul asked as she sighed and looked back over at Aiden before standing up from the couch.

"Let's go to the kitchen"

"Okay" Paul replied standing up and following her into the kitchen feeling nervous himself now. When they made it to the kitchen he went over and leaned against the counter as she stood silent. "So what's wrong?"

"Aiden asked me if he had a daddy today after Shane was talking about being a daddy"

"What did you say?" Paul asked feeling his heart begin to beat faster.

"I told him that he did but I didn't tell him who it was because he asked in front of my family. Everyone was standing there staring at us and Shane kind of took over the situation and got him preoccupied with his Christmas gifts."

"I thought you said if he asked then you would tell him that I was his father" Paul replied crossing his arms feeling his blood boil.

"And I will but I couldn't with us being in front of my family. My mom had already called me into the kitchen not long before Aiden asked me that and she was telling me that Aiden had been talking about you. Then she insinuated something was going on between you and I, which she isn't wrong about. But I didn't tell her that because after that she warned me about the whole not dating wrestlers rule" Stephanie explained and he scoffed because it just seemed like there was always some excuse for her not telling Aiden the truth. It was starting to get to him and he felt like she didn't want Aiden to ever know about him, it still felt like she didn't trust him. "I don't know what to do."

"Just tell him the truth"

"Then my family will find out. I know I have to tell them but I'm not sure if I should tell them before we tell Aiden or tell Aiden first. I'm terrified too because once they know you could possibly lose your career."

"Then I'll find another job. Yeah it will suck but I'd rather lose my job than to lose out on Aiden knowing that I'm his dad" Paul replied a little loudly and then closed his eyes and breathed in slowly to calm down. Yelling and fighting wouldn't get them anywhere but he couldn't help how pissed off the whole situation was making him.

"Mommy?" Paul heard Aiden say softly and he opened his eyes to see Aiden staring at them. "I'm sleepy."

"Okay sweetheart. Go ahead and change into your pajamas and I'll come in and tuck you in" Stephanie replied as Aiden turned around and left. "Can we finish this discussion after he goes to sleep?"

"Yeah" Paul replied pushing away from the counter and headed out of the kitchen with Stephanie following behind him. Hopefully he could calm down more while him and Stephanie tucked Aiden in for the night. He didn't want to fight with Stephanie tonight and he didn't want to get mad enough to actually start yelling and end up waking Aiden up later.

Paul headed into Aiden's room to find him finishing putting on his pajamas and then he crawled into his bed.

"Are you mad?" Aiden asked looking at him as he came over to his bed.

"No. Why do you think I'm mad?" Paul asked crouching down beside of Aiden's bed.

"Because you were yelling"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't yelling, I just got a little loud and I'm sorry if I scared you" Paul replied with a smile to try and reassure him while Aiden let out a yawn. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Aiden.

"Are you my dad?" Aiden asked and Paul froze. Aiden must have heard what he said in the kitchen which he should have realized once Aiden said he had been yelling. He had no idea how to answer because he wanted to tell him the truth but doing that without Stephanie's permission would certainly piss her off.

"Yes, Paul is your dad" Paul heard Stephanie say from the door of Aiden's room. He had no idea she had even joined them until now and he was really surprised that she had just came out and told Aiden the truth. It made his anger from earlier start to fade away especially when a huge grin formed on Aiden's face. "We can talk more about it tomorrow when you wake up."

"I'm not sleepy now though" Aiden replied but then yawned again.

"Uh huh sure" Stephanie replied with a chuckle as Aiden rubbed his eyes. "You were awake very early this morning so I think you are tired. Just lay there and close your eyes and get some sleep."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Aiden asked looking at Paul.

"Of course I will" Paul replied pulling the blanket up over him while Stephanie came over and leaned down to kiss Aiden on the cheek.

"Get some sleep okay. I love you" Stephanie said straightening back up.

"I love you too mommy" Aiden replied with another yawn before he looked back over at Paul. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too son" Paul replied with a smile as Aiden closed his eyes. There was no way to describe the happiness he was feeling right now from Aiden's words. It had completely made his Christmas the best one so far.

When Stephanie started to move towards the door of Aiden's room Paul got up from his position and followed her. He looked back to Aiden one last time who had seemed to fall asleep pretty fast and turned off the light.

"Thank you" Paul said once they started down the hallway back to the living room.

"I told you I would tell him the truth if he asked" Stephanie replied tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm definitely going to have to tell my family soon now."

"Hey" Paul said grabbing her arm gently and pulling her to him. "As long as I have Aiden and you then I don't care what happens. Don't worry about it, everything will work out the way it needs to. I'm never going anywhere either if that is what you're still worried about."

"I'm just…." Stephanie trailed off as he brought his hand up and cupped the side of her face. "Scared."

"I'll be right here. I'll go with you to tell your family if you want. Anything you want Steph I'll do it" Paul replied as she gave him a small smile and he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. The truth was he was a little scared too because he was sure things weren't going to go very good with her family once they knew the truth. He would deal with it the best he could though because he was telling her the truth when he said he didn't care as long as he had Aiden and her. They were the two most important people to him and nobody was going to take that away from him. He just wished things would have been different, that he would have never left in the first place all those years ago. That he wouldn't have missed out on the first years of his son's life but at least he was here now and Stephanie was giving him a second chance. It was more than he probably deserved and he wasn't going to ruin that again.


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you for you reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* * *

Stephanie finished applying mascara on her lashes and let out a sigh of relief to be done. She was so nervous that her fingers had been shaking slightly during the process that she was nervous she would end up poking herself in the eye with the wand. But luckily she had got through it and was done with her makeup and now all she had to do was wait on Paul. Tonight was their date and she couldn't seem to keep herself from being so nervous which made no sense considering the amount of time they had been spending together since the storyline began and then he found out about Aiden.

"Mommy you look pretty" Stephanie looked over to see Aiden coming into her bedroom and smiled at him.

"Yes she does" Kelsi said appearing at her bedroom door behind Aiden.

"Thank you" Stephanie replied looking over her appearance in the mirror before turning her attention to Kelsi "it's not too much is it?"

"No you look great, stop worrying so much."

"I can't help it I'm just so nervous" Stephanie replied picking up her perfume from her dresser and spritzing herself with it. Kelsi chuckled at her and Stephanie narrowed her eyes at her and put the perfume back down on the dresser "it's not funny."

"I'm sorry. It's just I haven't seen you this worked up over a guy in well…. since you went out with Paul back in college."

"This is ridiculous right? That I'm so nervous about this when Paul and I used to date and I see him regularly."

"No it's not ridiculous. You and him are trying to start a relationship again and I know you're nervous because of how things happened in the past. But I think he really has changed from back then so don't get caught up thinking about the past and letting it ruin the future. Just enjoy your night and don't think so much" Kelsi replied as Stephanie nodded her head and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

"Can I go mommy?" Aiden asked giving her puppy dog eyes and sticking out his bottom lip.

"Not this time sweetie" Stephanie replied and couldn't help but feel bad when he hung his head down and walked out her bedroom. It had only been a couple of days since he found out that Paul was his dad and Aiden wanted to spend even more time with him than before. Now she felt bad and didn't want to take time away that Aiden could be spending with Paul. "Well now I feel like shit."

"He'll be fine, trust me" Kelsi reassured her with a smile. "I'll let him pig out a little bit and watch some of his favorite movies."

"Don't let him eat too much junk food" Stephanie replied as they heard a knock on the door. Stephanie felt her heart start beating faster and started feeling more nervous knowing that Paul was here.

"I'll get it" Kelsi replied giving her a smile before turning to leave the room. "Remember to breathe Steph."

Stephanie checked her appearance once last time in the mirror before going to her closet and grabbing a jacket then she headed out of her room. Once she made it to the living room her eyes immediately landed on Paul who was sitting on the couch. His back was to her so the only thing she could see was his hair was down and he had on his leather jacket that he had let her borrow the night he drove her home when she had got drunk with him and Shawn.

"Don't you want to spend time with Kelsi?" She heard Paul ask and then she noticed Aiden was standing in front of him shaking his head.

"He asked Paul if he could go with you guys" Kelsi whispered next to her. She had been focused on Paul and Aiden that she hadn't noticed that Kelsi had even come up to her.

"But I told him no."

"Yeah I know but when you were a kid didn't you ever go to the other parent when the first one said no?"

"I just…I can't believe he would do that."

"Well it's probably going to start happening a lot now so get used to it" Kelsi replied and patted her shoulder with a giggle before heading towards the kitchen.

"Aiden I told you not this time" Stephanie said going over to him and Paul.

"But I want to go with you and daddy" Aiden replied keeping his attention on Paul and stuck out his bottom lip.

"How about you stay here with Kelsi this time and tomorrow all three of us will go out? We won't be gone very long and when we get back later you and I will spend time together doing whatever you want" Paul suggested as Aiden tilted his head looking like he was thinking it over.

"Okay" Aiden replied dejectedly and sat down on the couch and crossed his arms. That had gone over a lot better than she thought it was going to but then again he probably realized he wasn't going to get his way.

"Are you ready to go?" Stephanie asked looking at Paul and he nodded his head and stood up. He reached over and ruffled Aiden's hair. "Be good for Kelsi."

"We'll be back before you know it" Paul said to Aiden as he ignored them. Stephanie shook her head and headed to the kitchen to let Kelsi know they were leaving.

"We're going now. Aiden isn't too happy"

"I'll cheer him up. You two have fun and I'll see you soon" Kelsi replied picking up two bowls and Stephanie could see that ice cream was filled to the top with tons of fudge on top. "Wipe that look off of your face he probably won't even eat that much of it."

"I… just forget it" Stephanie replied shaking her head and walked over to the door. "Have fun."

"We will" Kelsi called as Stephanie and Paul walked out of the house.

"You look beautiful by the way" Paul said as they walked off of the porch and headed to his car.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself" Stephanie replied looking at what she could see of his black button up shirt and down to the dark denim jeans he had paired with it.

When they reached the car Paul opened her door for her and she got in feeling a lot calmer than she did earlier and now she was more excited than anything. Though part of her felt guilty for taking time away from Aiden especially when he wanted to go with them so bad. Hopefully they would be able to figure this all out because she couldn't let her trying to have a relationship with Paul affect Aiden losing time in getting to know him. She wouldn't let that happen even if it meant putting a possible relationship between her and Paul on hold.

After they had arrived at the restaurant and were seated they ordered drinks and looked over the menu. Paul looked over to Stephanie once he knew what he was ordering to see her concentrating on the menu. She had been pretty quiet on the way to the restaurant and he hoped he hadn't already messed their date up. He thought back on everything he had said to her and he couldn't recall saying anything to piss her off or offend her. He had been looking forward to this date ever since she had said yes to it so he had been pretty nervous about it all day and her already being so quiet wasn't helping to calm his nerves.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked once the waitress had come back with their drinks and took their food order and left.

"Yeah I'm good" Stephanie nodded and took a sip of her wine. "I just feel bad for taking time away from Aiden that he could be spending with you. Especially when he wanted to come with us."

"I know. I felt horrible saying no especially when he gave me that face."

"Yeah it's hard to resist" Stephanie let out a small chuckle and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. "I just don't want what is developing between us to affect Aiden's time with you. He needs you more."

"It won't, I promise. We're just new to this so it's going to take some time to figure out" Paul replied reaching his hand across the table and taking hold of hers. She smiled at him as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Hopefully. It's just hard when we're traveling so much and it doesn't give Aiden very much time to spend with us as it is. He gets to spend more time with me than you though so it's important that he gets to spend as much time with you as possible."

"Try not to worry about it right now. If you want, we'll just bring him along with us next time and make into a family thing" Paul replied before taking a drink of his water. He really wanted things to work between them because he wasn't sure if he could go back to just being friends with her. It had already been hard on him not to want to touch or kiss her but he also understood where she was coming from. Aiden was the most important and he would do whatever he needed to do for him.

"Yeah, maybe" Stephanie replied with a small smile. "Besides we're all three going out tomorrow remember?"

"I remember and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"I'm sure Aiden is already looking forward to it" Stephanie replied as their waitress arrived back at their table with the food and sat it down in front of them. "So I'm going to have to tell my parents everything soon."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Paul asked before taking a bite of his food. He was nervous about letting her family know, especially Vince. But he didn't want her to have to tell them by herself either.

"I don't know. It would be great to have you there for support but then it might just anger them even more when it all comes out that they probably won't listen to anything we have to say. There will probably be lots of shouting and accusations" Stephanie said before taking a drink of her wine. "I just know I have to do it really soon. Kelsi has kept him for the last couple of days that I've had to do shows but I can't keep asking her to do it all the time. And since Aiden has been talking about you already to my mom I know he'll end up telling my parents before I do and I can't let that happen."

"Well I'll do whatever you want. If you decide to tell them by yourself just let me know so I'll know exactly why I'm getting a call from Vince or why he's showing up at my door. I'm sure if he suddenly shows up at my door though I'll know why."

"I will" Stephanie replied giving him a smile before taking a bite of her food.

Once dinner was finished they paid for their dinner and then made their way out of the restaurant. Stephanie had finally relaxed through dinner while they talked and it seemed she had a good time. Which was a relief for Paul and he was finally able to enjoy the evening without worrying something was going to go wrong. And as they walked to the car he wasn't ready to take her home and their date to be over.

"So… do you maybe want to go and watch a movie or something?" Paul asked pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her waist once they reached the car.

"Hmm I'm not even sure if I'm even interested in anything that's playing in the theater."

"We could always go rent one of your favorite movies and go back to my place" Paul suggested as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You hate my movies though."

"I don't hate them. I just don't really care for them but I'll suffer through them if it means I can spend some more alone time with you" he replied before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers.

"And all you want to do is watch a movie?" Stephanie asked arching her eyebrow "I'm not sure that's all you want to do."

"If that's all you want to do then that's what we will do. I'm not going to fuck it up this time Steph. I'm not going to rush you into anything" Paul replied staring into her eyes. He really was starting to fall in love with her, he wasn't even sure if he really even had stopped loving her in the first place. Maybe that's why he had tried so hard to get her to forgive him when they first started their storyline. Why he wasn't able to stay away from her even when his relationship with Joanie had started to crumble. Why he had tried to convince himself that what they had all those years ago was a fling.

"How about we rent a movie and go back to my place and once Aiden goes to sleep then we will watch the movie? I really want Aiden to spend as much time with you as he can and we told him we wouldn't be very long."

"Okay" Paul nodded his head and kissed her softly on the lips. He then let go of her and opened the car door for her so she could slip in. Then a couple of minutes later they drove out of the parking lot.

After they had stopped and rented a couple of movies they headed back to Stephanie's place. Dinner had been great and relaxing for her once she had been able to get the things that had been bugging her off of her mind. Paul had been really sweet and understanding of everything. Part of her had wanted to just go back to his place and watch a movie but she wasn't sure if she could completely control herself around him once they were alone. That was just something that she wasn't ready for especially after their first date and the reminders of what happened before years ago. She really was trying to let the past be in the past like Kelsi had advised her to do but she still was trying to be cautious of getting hurt again. It had taken her a long time before to move on from him after he had left the first time.

"I really hope Aiden isn't too hyper from junk food" Stephanie said as they turned on to her street. The ice cream Kelsi had given him before they left would definitely have him bouncing off the walls if he ate a lot of it. There was no telling how much more junk food she would have gave him while they had been gone either.

"I just hope he still isn't upset with me."

"I'm sure he got over that pretty soon after we left" Stephanie chuckled as they started getting closer to her house where she could see the driveway. That's when she noticed another car in her driveway besides hers and Kelsi's and she froze. She knew whose car it was and now she wasn't so sure she wanted to go home. "Shit."

"What?" Paul asked as he pulled into the driveway and looked over at her.

"My mom is here" Stephanie replied unbuckling her seatbelt and stared straight ahead at her house where she noticed Kelsi had stepped out of and stood waiting on the porch.

"Should I go in with you or- "

"You should probably head home because this doesn't look too good. Kelsi is waiting on the porch for me which means she probably needs to talk to me before I go in."

"Are you sure?" Paul asked giving her a look of concern.

"Yeah" Stephanie replied nodding her head.

"What about Aiden? I told him I would come back and spend time with him."

"I'm not sure. I don't think mom will stay long and I could call you after she leaves."

"Okay just call me after she leaves. I had a great time tonight" Paul replied leaning over and giving her a kiss that didn't last long enough for her but for the moment it would have to do.

"I did too" she smiled at him and opened her door. "I'll call you soon."

Stephanie got out of the car and waved at him before shutting the door and taking off to the porch. She pulled her jacket close around her after feeling herself start to shake. She wasn't sure if she were really that cold or if she was just that nervous to go inside. There was no telling how much Aiden had told Linda it was one of the reason's Kelsi had been watching him lately.

"How long has she been here?" Stephanie asked once she stepped on the porch towards Kelsi.

"Ten minutes or so but Aiden has been going on and on about how you and daddy left without him tonight" Kelsi replied and Stephanie ran a hand through her hair.

"Did he mention Paul's name at all?"

"I didn't hear him say his name but your mom doesn't seem too happy about you being out with Aiden's dad. She tried asking me questions but I dodged them the best I could" Kelsi replied with a small shrug.

"What is she doing here at this time anyway?"

"She said she wanted to come and see Aiden because she hadn't seen him for a couple of days. She wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Great." Stephanie replied sarcastically before taking a deep breath and letting it out. If she didn't go in soon then Linda would just come out here to see where Kelsi had go off to. "I guess it's time to face the music."


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you for the reviews! I'm so sorry it has taken so long for me to update but I've been really busy. I felt like I could have done better with this chapter but at the same time I like what I ended up with so I hope you enjoy it :)

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Stephanie walked into the house and took her jacket off and sat down at the table to give herself a moment to calm down and warm up. She could hear Linda's voice coming from the living room probably asking Aiden more questions for all she knew because she couldn't quite make out what was being said.

"So how are you going to explain this to her?" Kelsi asked motioning to the living room.

"I'm going to tell her the truth"

"Really?" Kelsi asked her eyes widening in surprise as Stephanie nodded her head.

"It was only a matter of time before she found out. Besides I was going to tell my parents anyway, I was just hoping I could tell them both at the same time."

"Well I guess I'm going to get going so you can talk to her" Kelsi replied grabbing her jacket "unless you want me to stay here as support."

"No it's fine. I wish I could switch places with you so I wouldn't have to deal with it" Stephanie laughed "so I'm not going to make you sit here and feel uncomfortable."

"I'll just be a phone call away if you need me to come back."

"I know and thanks I really appreciate it" Stephanie smiled at Kelsi as she opened the door and pulled on her jacket.

"Any time. I'll talk you later and good luck" Kelsi replied walking out and shutting the door behind her. Stephanie took a deep breath as she heard footsteps heading her way.

"You're home" Linda said pulling out the chair in front of Stephanie and sitting down.

"Yes mom I'm home" Stephanie replied tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she stared straight ahead at Linda as they sat in silence. She could tell her mother was upset from the way she was looking at her and from the silence that had now settled around them. It wouldn't be long before she started in with her questions but first her mother liked to try and make her squirm under her stare just as she did when Stephanie was a kid. To be honest it still worked on her too because she was starting to fidget. "What's Aiden doing?"

"He was falling asleep watching a movie when I left the room. He told me earlier that you went on a date" Linda said crossing her arms and Stephanie nodded her head. "With his father."

"I did" Stephanie swallowed and looked down at her hands to avoid Linda's stare. She was an adult but sitting here under her mother's stare was making her feel like a kid about to receive a huge punishment for doing something she shouldn't have done.

"What are you thinking Stephanie?" Linda asked her voice rising slightly. "This man left you because he didn't want the responsibility of a child. You can't seriously be thinking of letting this man around Aiden for him to get close to him. What if he decides once again he doesn't want the responsibility and he just gets up and leaves again? You're not just hurting yourself now, you have Aiden to think about."

"I know that mom. Aiden is the most important thing to me and I don't want to see him end up hurt but he does have a right to know- "

"Matt doesn't deserve anything though after he treated you two the way he did" Linda replied getting up from her chair as Stephanie shook her head feeling confused.

"Matt?"

"That's his name right?" Linda asked arching her brow as Stephanie finally realized that was the name she had made up to her family. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that but it didn't matter because she had to come clean and that meant pissing Linda off more than she already was.

"Actually mom that wasn't his name."

"It's been a long time since you've talked about him but I could have sworn that was what you said his name was. Or at least something that started with an M."

"I did tell you it was Matt but I made it up. The guy I told you about is a guy I made up" Stephanie replied as Linda just stood there looking shocked.

"Then…. " Linda trailed off shaking her head "Why..."

"Just sit back down mom and I'll tell you everything" Stephanie replied motioning to the chair in front of her and Linda slowly made her way back to her chair and sat down. "Do you remember the summer before I went to college?"

"Yes you were helping your father out over that summer."

"I met some of the wrestlers over the summer and that is actually how I first met Paul" Stephanie said shifting in her seat slightly "Paul and Joanie had broken up during that time and Paul and I would talk from time to time until somewhere along the way it turned into flirting- "

"Stephanie Marie McMahon are you trying to tell me that Paul is…" Linda trailed off while Stephanie nodded her head.

"Aiden's father" Stephanie finished Linda's sentence while Linda sat there silently staring off into space. This wasn't the reaction she had braced herself for. "Mom?"

"So everything was a lie?" Linda asked finally looking back at her. She could see the hurt in Linda's eyes and she instantly felt guilty all over again for lying to her family. "All of that story about how some guy named Matt was all bullshit so you could protect Paul?"

"Yes and no."

"What does that mean? Stop making me guess" Linda snapped and Stephanie flinched at the anger in her voice.

"Yes I lied about who Aiden's father was but it wasn't to protect Paul, not at first anyway. I didn't want Paul knowing about Aiden and I just wanted to move on with my life. It hurt when he suddenly disappeared from my life and then suddenly I found out he was back with Joanie…" Stephanie trailed off taking a breath. She hadn't meant for all that to come rushing out the way it had and now Linda looked beyond pissed.

"So the part of you being left alone while pregnant was true."

"Yes I was alone but Paul had no idea I was even pregnant. If he had known things would have been different" Stephanie explained putting her head in her hands. She felt like she was making things worse, if that was possible.

"If we would have known things would have been different. You would have never had to deal with him again."

"You would have fired him and that wouldn't have been fair to him because he had no idea."

"Fair to him?" Linda asked raising her voice "are you seriously taking up for him Stephanie? He left you with no word- "

"But he didn't know" Stephanie replied trying to get Linda to understand what she was trying to say but it was like she wasn't even listening.

"I understand that he didn't know about Aiden but I'm trying to point out Stephanie that he just left you with no word. How are you supposed to know he won't do it again? This time he doesn't just leave a heartbroken girl behind when he leaves, he also leaves behind a little boy who is going to be completely heartbroken. A little boy who knows him this time and isn't going to understand why."

"He isn't going to leave" Stephanie shook her head fighting the tears that were forming. Everything Linda was saying was her exact fears and hearing her say them just made it worse. "Even if I can't make a relationship work with Paul he said he would still be here for Aiden."

"That's what he says now. What do you think he's going to do once his job is in jeopardy? Your father isn't going to take this news well" Linda replied getting up from her chair.

"Please don't tell dad" Stephanie pleaded as Linda headed to the living room and Stephanie got up from her chair and followed. Stephanie walked into the living room and noticed Aiden bundled up in a blanket fast asleep as Linda grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch.

"I can't keep this from him Stephanie" Linda said keeping her voice low.

"I'm not asking you to keep it from him. I'm just asking you not to tell him because I want to be the one to tell him so I can explain everything."

"You can explain all you want but I don't think it's going to change the outcome. I'll let you tell Vince and I won't say anything but I'm warning you Stephanie that I don't think Paul is going to stick around. Just try not to let Aiden get too used to him being here. I've got to go it's getting late and your father is going to be wondering where I am" Linda replied pulling on her jacket and started heading to the door. "We'll talk about this later."

"Mom please don't leave angry" Stephanie said following her to the door and Linda turned around to stare straight into her eyes.

"I'm more hurt and disappointed from all the lies than anything right now" Linda replied and opened the door and left without another word. As soon as Linda was out of the door Stephanie slumped down in her chair at the table and started crying. What if her mom was right about everything?

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Paul got of his car and headed up to Stephanie's house and knocked on the door. He had been sitting on his couch with his phone in his hand just waiting for her to call. He wished he had just stayed with her instead of leaving and he wished that he would have even more when she had finally called and he heard her voice. He instantly got up from the couch and told her he was on his way and he drove as fast and careful as he could to her house. Now he was standing here waiting for her to answer the door.

"Hey" Stephanie said when the door finally opened. The makeup from earlier was now gone and her eyes were red from crying. He walked into the house and immediately wrapped her in his arms.

"I shouldn't have left you" Paul said kicking the door closed as she buried her head into his chest.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"What all did she have to say?" Paul asked as Stephanie pulled out of his arms and wiped her eyes.

"She said when dad finds out things aren't going to be good which I already know anyway. She didn't have very much to say except that she was hurt and disappointed and that she basically thinks you're going to leave again. Which has been my fear all along and now with my mom saying she believes that it's hard not to be scared."

"I know and I've told you over and over that I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to prove to you that I'm not so whatever doubts you are having right now, please try not to let them take over" Paul said cupping her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. "Please don't push me away. Try to believe in me, try to trust me."

"I'm trying" Stephanie replied and he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. As long as she was trying to believe that he wasn't going to leave her and Aiden behind then he didn't care what Linda thought. He would prove everyone wrong who thinks he'll leave his family behind. Stephanie and Aiden's opinion of him was the only ones he was worried about. "I'm just worried what's going to happen when I tell dad now after the way mom reacted. She's not done talking about it either she just left because of how late it was and I think because of how hurt she was for lying to her all these years."

"So she's not going to tell Vince herself?"

"No she said she would let me do it. I'm just terrified about it more now."

"Well I'll be there for it. I'm not letting you deal with it alone this time."

"Paul- "

"I let you tell your mother by yourself because you wanted to even though I wanted to be there. After seeing you hurt by what happened with Linda I'm not letting you tell Vince alone."

"He's probably just going to get mad and blow up at you instead of me" Stephanie replied and Paul shrugged his shoulders. He didn't care what Vince wanted to yell at him as long as he didn't do it at Stephanie.

"I'm going to be there for you Steph and he can say whatever he wants to me."

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?"

"Nope" Paul replied shaking his head with a small smile. "Now let's put this behind us for the night and go watch those movies we rented to take your mind off of all of this."

"I'm not sure if it will but I'll try not to think about it at least for tonight."

"Good. I'm guessing Aiden is asleep right?"

"Yeah he fell asleep when I got home. He must have been exhausted" Stephanie chuckled "I carried him to his bed."

"I told him before we left I would spend time with him just me and him so I guess I'll have to make that up to him tomorrow."

"He'll love that" Stephanie replied going over to the table and picking up the movies they had rented and then handed them to Paul. "Pick one and put it on. I'm going to pour a glass of wine because I really need it after all of that with my mom. Do you want anything?"

"No I'm good" Paul replied before walking into the living room and putting one of the movies on and settled down on the couch. He really hoped that watching these movies would keep her mind off of what Linda had said and for whatever would happen when she told her dad. There was no need for her to worry about all of that tonight, there was nothing they could do to change whatever was going to happen. So they might as well try to enjoy the time without drama from her family while they could.

As Paul got comfortable on the couch Stephanie came into the room with her glass of wine and flipped the light off before sitting down on the couch next to him. She took a drink of her wine and then put it down on the coffee table in front of them and then snuggled up next to Paul who wrapped his arm around her in return and kissed the top of her head.

"So we are watching Pretty Woman first" Stephanie said and then let out a small yawn.

"I suppose so. To be honest I just picked the movie on top and put it in" Paul laughed as Stephanie yawned again. "Are you even going to stay awake to watch this movie?"

"Of course I am. I'm just a little tired."

"If you fall asleep on me and make me watch this movie by myself then next time you have to watch a movie of my choosing."

"Deal. I'm not going to fall asleep though so you will be suffering as you call it through all of the movies we rented for tonight" Stephanie replied raising up from her position and grabbing her glass of wine and taking a drink. After she was done she put it back in its place and returned to her cuddling position with Paul.

They made it halfway through the movie when Paul noticed that Stephanie had fallen asleep just as he had predicted and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. There was no way he was watching the rest of it by himself so he eased himself out of the cuddling position she had him in and got up from the couch. He grabbed the glass of wine she hadn't finished and took it to the kitchen and poured it out. Then he went back into the living room and picked her up off the couch as gently as he could without waking her and carried her to her bedroom.

He laid her down in her bed and pulled her blanket over her and kissed her on the forehead then turned to leave when he felt her reach out and grab his hand.

"Paul" Stephanie whispered "I know tonight was our first date and I don't want to rush anything but will you stay with me? I just don't want to be alone tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Okay" Paul replied as she let go of his hand and went over to the other side of the bed and pulled his shirt off and then his jeans. Then he got into the bed next to her and laid down on his back as she moved closer to him and laid her head down on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close as she drifted off back to sleep. He laid there for a while just enjoying the feel of having her sleeping in his arms and hoping that somehow everything would go good when they told Vince. He hoped nothing would come between Stephanie and him because tonight had kind of scared him when it looked like Stephanie might actually believe Linda about him leaving her again. If Stephanie started to believe that then he knew she would pull away from him and end things and that was something he was completely terrified of. He knew without a doubt he was in love with her and she had all the power to break his heart this time around. He wasn't sure how he would get through it if she did.


	18. Chapter 18

Thank you everyone for the reviews! I really liked this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it :)

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The next morning Stephanie slipped out of her bed quietly as she could, leaving a softly snoring Paul in her bed. Once she was out of her room she sneaked a peek inside Aiden's room to see him sprawled out on his bed still asleep. She couldn't help but smile at the sight and then head towards the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on. Stephanie grabbed a cup out of the cabinet and then leaned against the counter to wait. When it was done she poured the coffee in her cup and headed to the table to sit down and enjoy a little bit of alone time but the words from last night was still buzzing in her ears that Linda had said to her. She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands feeling exhausted from the sleepless night. Even though Paul had stayed with her it didn't stop the bad dreams from happening. There were ones of her and Paul, he was so close but still just out of reach and when she would reach out for him, he would just disappear. Then suddenly she was holding a crying Aiden as a baby in her arms and her trying to calm him down as tears of her own slipped down her cheeks. She would look back to the spot Paul had been waiting for him to show back up but he never did. He had just left them standing there alone crying.

Even though that wasn't the way things had exactly happened it still had brought up the painful memories and feelings of him leaving her alone and pregnant. She had to remind herself that if she had tried a little harder to let him know back then that she was pregnant maybe things would have been different. But would he have stayed only because of Aiden or had he really cared about her? She sighed and took a drink of her coffee while pushing the thoughts away. It didn't really matter anymore did it? He was here now and he really seemed to love Aiden and he really did seem to care about her too. That's what she had to keep reminding herself.

"Good morning" Paul said as she looked over at him. He was wearing his jeans from last night but he didn't have his shirt on. She couldn't keep her eyes from raking over him and remembered how he had been in nothing but his boxers last night. Also how one of the first times she had woken up due to one of the dreams he had rolled over and put his arm around her waist and pulled her close against him. It hadn't been easy to ignore the way he felt against her or how much she wanted to let her desire for him to take over. But in her mind she knew she wasn't ready for it even though her body definitely was. She didn't want to rush things between them, not like she did all those years ago.

"Good morning" Stephanie replied before taking another drink of her coffee as he sat down at the table with her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah it would have been a little better if you hadn't kicked me through most of the night" Paul replied with a chuckle while bringing his arms up to rest in front of him on the table.

"Did I really?"

"Just a little."

"I'm sorry I guess I'm used to sleeping alone" Stephanie replied putting her cup of coffee down on the table in front of her.

"It's nothing I can't take" Paul shrugged and then smiled "I mean I do wrestle for a living."

"So would you like me to cook you something for breakfast?"

"No I was actually thinking of taking Aiden out for breakfast when he gets up since I promised him last night that we would do something just me and him. Then I thought I would take him out after that and do some stuff he likes to do. If that's alright with you?"

"Yeah that's fine" Stephanie replied and nodded her head. "I guess that leaves me by myself today. Wow I can't really remember the last time that happened. Maybe I'll watch those movies we rented last night."

"Great. Then I don't have to suffer through them."

"Oh I'll leave one for both of us to watch together" Stephanie replied with a smirk.

"Just remember our deal from last night though. You now have to watch a movie of my choosing because you said you wouldn't fall asleep and you did."

"I don't remember that deal" Stephanie replied trying to hide the smile that was threatening to break through. Paul studied her face for a moment while she sat there trying to keep a straight face until he got up from his seat. For a second she thought maybe he was going to let it go until she felt him press against the back of her chair and felt his breath on the side of her neck.

"I know you remember and I get to choose the movie the next time" Paul whispered in her ear and then she felt his lips against her skin as he gave her a soft tiny kiss just below her ear. Then he walked off into the kitchen leaving her wanting for more than the just the tiny kiss he gave her. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Stephanie asked confused taking another drink of her coffee.

"That little groaning sound you made" Paul replied walking back towards the table. "Or was it a moan?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Stephanie replied feeling herself blush. She hadn't even been aware that she had made any kind of noise.

"Daddy! You're here" Aiden said drawing Stephanie and Paul's attention to him. Stephanie hadn't even heard him wake up or head towards them. "You didn't come back last night and spend time with me."

"I know and I'm sorry but your grandma was here and mommy wanted to talk to her alone" Paul replied as Aiden came over to him and climbed into his lap. "But I'm going to make it up to you because I'm going to take you out for breakfast and then you can choose anything you want to do today. It's going to be just you and me."

"Really?" Aiden asked with a huge smile.

"Yeah you just have to go get changed out of your pajamas and get your shoes on" Paul replied as Aiden climbed down back off of Paul's lap and raced out of the room. "I guess I'd better go get my shirt and shoes. Is there anything you need that I can pick up for you while we are out?"

"No I'm good" Stephanie replied and Paul walked off leaving her to finish her coffee wondering all the things she could do with her free time.

* * *

Once Aiden and Paul had said their goodbyes to her and headed out Stephanie decided to take a nice long bubble bath. It had been a while since she could just lay in the bathtub listening to music and just relax. Unfortunately, though as she went to the bathroom and started to turn the faucet on there was a knock on the front door. For a moment she considered to just not answer it but then whoever it was had started knocking even louder and it had made her worried that maybe it was some kind of an emergency.

"I'm coming" Stephanie called making her way down the hall quickly already kind of annoyed at whoever it was at her front door. When she made it to the door she unlocked it and opened it slightly to find Shane standing there with his arm raised looking like he was about to knock again. "Shane what are you doing here this early? Is something wrong?"

"Where is he?" Shane asked ignoring her questions.

"Where is who?" Stephanie asked opening the door wider for Shane to come inside the house. She was starting to freeze already from the door being opened and she hoped he would just hurry and come in so she could close the door. Especially since it looked like he was going to be here for a while.

"Paul" Shane replied angrily walking into the house and started heading into the living room. Stephanie shut the door and followed him feeling angry that Linda had apparently told him about Paul being Aiden's father. There would be no other reason for him to be looking for him this angry. When she made it to the living room Shane was already walking down her hallway to her bedroom.

"Shane stop! He's not here" Stephanie replied following him down the hallway until he spun around and faced her. "Mom told you didn't she?"

"Yeah she told me. What the fuck Stephanie?" Shane asked throwing his hands in the air and let them fall back down at his side. "How could you keep this a secret? How could you lie to us?"

"It wasn't easy but you're pretty much showing me the reason right now of why I kept it a secret" Stephanie replied turning around and walking back into the living room. "And I kept it a secret because after a while I didn't want Paul knowing or him getting fired. I'm sure mom has already told you my reasoning because apparently she can't keep her word. What are you doing here anyway? Did you come to kick his ass? Because let's be honest Shane you would have been the one getting his ass handed to him."

"I could take him" Shane replied defensively crossing his arms and Stephanie couldn't help the laugh that came out of her. "I could."

"Okay Shane" Stephanie pressed her lips together to try and contain herself from laughing again. Even though she was pissed off she couldn't help but let a little bit of the anger slip away at the image in her head of Shane trying to take Paul on.

"I get it now though. Why you didn't want to be in a storyline with him and why you were so pissed off about me letting Aiden meet him that night."

"That's the night that Paul found out that Aiden was his."

"So I'm the one that let it all out?" Shane asked going over to the couch and sinking down onto it.

"Well he came here to make sure but yeah after you introduced them that's when Paul realized that Aiden was his son" Stephanie replied sitting down next to Shane on the couch. She looked over at him watching some of the anger wash away. "Where you going to tell him if that hadn't happened?"

"Yeah, eventually."

"I still don't understand why he left you in the first place" Shane replied clenching his hand into a fist.

"We all do stupid things Shane that we regret at some point" Stephanie shrugged "but he realized his mistake and he really does regret it."

"Are you sure?" Shane asked looking her in the eye. "Are you sure he won't just leave again?"

"Yeah I'm sure. He really loves Aiden and he has been a great father so far to him. He's the one that wanted to make sure he was a part of Aiden's life once he found out about him so I'm sure he's not going anywhere" Stephanie replied and for once believed her own words.

"He shouldn't have got involved with you in the first place, no offense. But he was older and he knew better plus you were the boss's daughter. How did he think all of this would go when everyone found out eventually?"

"I don't know. We were both hoping that no one did and that is why we kept it a secret. I never thought I would end up pregnant and it would all come out. It doesn't matter that he was older Shane, I wanted it just as much and I agreed to it so you can't put the blame on just him" Stephanie replied as Shane gave a small sigh and ran his hand over his face.

"Look I didn't come over here to give you a hard time because I know you're already going to be getting that from mom and dad. I just came over here because I was so pissed off and I wanted to kick his ass for doing that to you and decided to look here for him first. I can't help but feel protective of you, you're my little sister and nobody is going to hurt you or my nephew" Shane said as Stephanie smiled at her brother. It was kind of sweet but also very stupid of him to think he could kick Paul's ass but at least she knew he had her back.

"Did you get it out of your system? Have you cooled down? Because it will be very stupid of you to start a fight with him."

"I'm not as angry but I still do want to kick his ass. I'll try to keep myself under control but if he hurts you again or Aiden by him leaving I will kick his ass."

"You can try" Stephanie replied patting his shoulder gently. "So did mom tell dad? Should I be expecting him at some point?"

"I don't think so. She said you asked her not to tell dad and that was the reason she had come to me because she needed someone to talk to."

"Well I guess I'll have to wait and see" Stephanie replied leaning her head back against the couch and hoping that Linda didn't say anything to Vince. She wanted to tell Vince herself and right now she wasn't ready.

* * *

A few hours later Paul pulled into Stephanie's driveway and shut the car off and grabbed the movie he had decided to rent while Aiden and him were out. He had got to know a lot more about Aiden today like his favorite things to do, some more of his favorite movies, his favorite color and stuff like that. He also learned something about himself and that was that he was the pushover parent. Aiden had wanted a toy today and even though Christmas had recently passed he couldn't help but want to buy it for him. But then Aiden had found two other toys he wanted so Paul had ended up buying him three toys. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up spoiling Aiden and letting get away with whatever he wanted but right now he couldn't help himself. Maybe it was because he had missed out on so much of Aiden's life and now he wanted to try and make up for it somehow.

"Okay ready to go in?" Paul asked opening Aiden's door as Aiden picked up his toys and tried holding them to his chest as he got out of the car. Once he was out one of the toys ended up falling to the ground. "Do you want me to help?"

"No I got it" Aiden replied bending down and picking the toy up while trying to make sure the other two didn't fall. Then he headed to the porch as Paul shut the door on the car and followed after him.

After they made it inside the house Aiden ran straight towards the living room while Paul went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Then he headed to the living room to find Stephanie sitting on the couch watching one of the movies they had rented last night. When she noticed him she paused the movie and smiled at him.

"So I saw you bought him some new toys as he ran to his bedroom" Stephanie said with a chuckle as he went over to the couch and sat down next to her. "He just got a ton of stuff for Christmas and some of it he hasn't even really played with yet."

"I know I know" Paul replied shaking his head "I did realize something today though."

"What's that?" Stephanie asked and it was almost as if she sounded nervous.

"I'm definitely the pushover parent."

"Oh" Stephanie replied and he hadn't realized how tensed she had been until he saw her loosen up and relax further into the couch. "We'll have to work on that."

"So how was your alone time?" Paul asked bringing his arm to rest on the back of the couch behind her and she laid her head back against it.

"It was pretty good. I watched the rest of Pretty Woman and I've made it halfway through this one" Stephanie motioned to the television.

"So that means there is still the rest of this to watch and then there is only one left to watch."

"Yeah and I saved the best for last since I knew it was the one you would be watching with me."

"Which one is it?"

"Dirty Dancing."

"Oh no" Paul groaned and threw his head back against the couch as Stephanie laughed at him.

"You're going to love it" Stephanie teased poking him lightly on the chest as Paul rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand from his chest letting his thumb caress the back of her hand.

"I love… the movie that I picked out while Aiden and I were out. You're totally suffering through it now since you're going to make me suffer through Dirty Dancing" Paul replied hoping she hadn't noticed how he trailed off there in the beginning because he had been about to tell her he loved her. Which would have probably freaked her out but he hadn't been thinking and was letting the way he was feeling get the best of him.

"Oh I'm sure I will" Stephanie replied sarcastically not letting on to whether she had caught on or not about what he was about to say. "Oh by the way I had unexpected visitor after you and Aiden left."

"Who was it?"

"Shane. Apparently mom told him about you being Aiden's father."

"Was he pissed?" Paul asked as Stephanie let out a giggle "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. He was pretty pissed but I got him calmed down."

"Do you think Linda told Vince?"

"I'm not sure. Shane said mom told him that I asked her not to say anything to dad and that's why she talked to Shane about it. But if you suddenly see my father coming at you really pissed off you'll know the reason why. Before Shane left I asked him not to say anything to anyone especially not dad and he agreed."

"I'll deal with it if it happens" Paul replied tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But now that we're starting to let your family know I was thinking that maybe we should start telling mine."

"Hmmm... "

"What?" Paul asked as she turned her head away from him.

"Maybe you should tell them" Stephanie shrugged.

"You don't want to tell them with me?" Paul asked and she shook her head "why not?"

"Because they'll hate me for keeping Aiden from you all of these years. I'm already dealing with my family being pissed off at me and I don't want your family feeling the same way."

"Baby they won't hate you. My family isn't going to be like your family, sure my mom will be upset at first. She'll be upset that she missed out on so much of his life but she'll be happy to have a Grandson to get to know and spoil. There is no way they can hate you especially after they get to know you but if you just want me to tell them I will" Paul replied and Stephanie nodded her head. He didn't want to push her to do something she didn't want to do but he would have liked to introduce his family to Stephanie too.

"Daddy" Aiden said interrupting their conversation "come play with my new toys with me."

"Okay I'll be there in just a minute" Paul replied as Aiden turned and headed back to his room. "I'll let you finish the rest of your movie and then later tonight we'll watch the other one together. Then if you're still awake we'll watch mine."

"I'll make sure to fall asleep right after mine" Stephanie grinned at him and he leaned over and kissed her.

"Then I'll just make sure we watch it sometime before I have to take it back" Paul replied getting from the couch as she pressed play on the movie and ignored him. As he walked towards Aiden room he felt excited about finally being able to tell his family about Aiden and introducing them. He knew they were going to love Aiden and they would love Stephanie too whenever she would be up for meeting them. He just hoped she didn't let her family bring her down too much but he would be there for her and try to cheer her up as much as possible.


	19. Chapter 19

I had a hard time with this chapter so it's shorter than most. Thank you guys for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* * *

Stephanie walked down the hallway to her dressing room and happened to see Linda and Vince walking her way. She had no idea Linda was going to be there tonight but then again they hadn't been talking since the night Linda found out Paul is Aiden's father. Which made Stephanie believe that Linda really was mad at her even though before she left that night she said she wasn't mad. They used to talk quite a lot during the week and now she hadn't heard a word from Linda with even stuff about Aiden. Stephanie had even tried calling her yesterday to see if she wanted to keep Aiden since she had to be at the show tonight but Linda never answered or called her back. So instead Aiden was staying with Shane, at least she could still count on one person in her family to be there for her.

As Vince and Linda came closer Stephanie was expecting them to stop and talk to her but they continued down the hall talking to each other while looking at some kind of papers in Vince's hands. She was surprised and a little hurt they hadn't even acknowledged her but she had a lot of other things on her mind to let it get to her. Paul had asked her if he could take Aiden to his parents' house the next day he was free so he could tell them about Aiden and let them meet him. She was pretty nervous about it because she was sure they were going to hate her and she was nervous about how Aiden would be. Hopefully he wouldn't be scared without her and he would be well behaved, Paul assured her Aiden would be fine but she couldn't help but worry about it.

When she made it to her door and opened it she immediately spotted Paul sitting on the couch and smiled at him. He seemed to have a way lately of making her smile just at the sight of him and from just being around him. She couldn't deny that she was starting to fall back in love with him no matter how much she had tried to put a wall up between them in the beginning. He always knocked it right back down and she found herself starting to slowly believe he really wasn't going anywhere this time.

"Hey" Paul said as she closed the door and then made her way over to the couch.

"Hey" Stephanie replied sitting down next to him and leaned over and kissed him. "Tonight is probably going to be long night."

"Why?"

"Mom is here with dad" Stephanie sighed cuddling up to him. "I have no idea what's going on with her. She hasn't talked to me since she found out about you being Aiden's dad. Then she told Shane which makes me nervous that she will just tell dad."

"If she does then we'll get through it together. I know you want to be the one to tell him but we might not get that chance. Try not to worry about it too much" Paul replied pulling her closer to him.

"You know I'm surprised you're not as worried as I am."

"I'm a little worried about how things will go once Vince knows but I know that it's out of my hands. At the end of the day as long as I still have you and Aiden then everything will be fine" Paul replied kissing the top of her head and she smiled. It definitely wasn't the first time he had said these things but she was starting to believe that he was telling her the truth the more he said it. She just hoped in the end he really was telling the truth because she wasn't sure how she would get through this time. "So do you have any plans after the show tonight?"

"Just going to the hotel and probably to bed" Stephanie replied thankful for the subject change. If she didn't get her mind off of everything then she knew she would just sit and dwell on it and stress herself off out more.

"Maybe you should come to my room and we could spend a little time alone together. Maybe watch a movie" Paul replied before leaning closer to her ear. "Or whatever else you want to do."

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea considering any of the wrestlers could catch us going into a hotel room together and that news would make it back to dad very quickly. Also I don't think I could handle watching Rambo again" Stephanie replied trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks from blushing.

"We didn't even watch most of that movie" Paul chuckled and Stephanie blushed even more. It had been a week since Stephanie and Paul had rented movies to watch and that night after Aiden had went to sleep they had watched Dirty Dancing and then Rambo which was the movie that Paul had rented. Except at some point during Paul's movie they had ended up all over each other. Her straddling his lap with his hand up her shirt but she had ended up stopping things when they started to progress further than that. She just wasn't ready to go further even though her body definitely wanted to. She hadn't even mean to let what happened even happen and she was afraid if she kept doing that she was going to end up sending him mixed signals. "But I'm fine with just watching movies just so you know. I'm sure we could find a way to sneak you in my room without anyone seeing."

"I don't know it's risky" Stephanie replied reaching into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cellphone. It would be time for Aiden to start getting ready for bed and she wanted to call him to say goodnight.

"Just think about it."

"I'll think about it but I make no promises" Stephanie replied looking at her phone and seeing that her battery was dying. She leaned forward on the couch to grab her purse off the floor for her charger and brought her purse into her lap. She rummaged through it frantically searching for it but it was nowhere to be seen. "I'll be right back. I have to go to my car and see if I left my charger in there."

"Okay" Paul replied as she grabbed her keys out of her purse and dropped it back on the floor as she got up from the couch and then headed outside her room.

Stephanie hurried down the hallway to try and avoid running into her parents and also because she wanted to hurry to her car and see if her charger was there. It wouldn't be long before Shane called her, he said he would after he gave Aiden his bath before tucking him into bed for the night. But when she was almost to do the door she heard a female voice that sounded like Terri say her name and she stopped. Her voice was just ahead around the corner and she had no idea who she was talking to but Stephanie stepped closer to see if she could hear what was being said.

"As soon as he got here he went into her room. I definitely think there is something going on between them and its becoming even more obvious. I wonder what Vince will do about it once he finds out." Stephanie wanted to just walk back to her room and avoid paying attention to Terri and whoever she was talking to. But she found herself starting to walk forward and didn't even glance towards Terri. All she wanted to do was ignore what was being said and get to her car but she was freaking out a little because if people were talking that meant it wouldn't be long before Vince heard it. Hopefully he would just take it as gossip even though it was true but even if he did she knew it was time to talk to him. She couldn't put it off anymore, she was going to have to tell him the truth.

* * *

Later that night Paul walked into Stephanie's dressing room to see her stuffing her charger into her purse and then run her fingers through her hair sighing loudly. Ever since she got back from getting her charger from the car earlier she had seemed frustrated and kind of distant towards him. He wasn't sure if it had been from something he said earlier or something else entirely. He just hoped when he was teasing her earlier about doing whatever else she wanted to do if she came to his room hadn't come off as him expecting something like that. He had definitely enjoyed fooling around with her last week but he wasn't going to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do.

"Hey."

"Hey" Stephanie replied glancing over at him for a second before grabbing her purse and sliding the strap on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked as she looked around the room.

"Dad wants to talk to me before I leave to go to the hotel."

"Oh. Do you think he knows?"

"No because he would have probably just come to my room and he would have probably requested to see you too" Stephanie replied tucking her hair behind her ears. "I just can't help but feel nervous though."

"Do you want me to wait on you and us leave together?" Paul asked walking closer to her as she shook her head.

"No you can go on ahead. It's probably better that way because I don't want anyone seeing us leave together and start saying things. Which is why it's best if I don't come to your room tonight."

"Okay what happened?" Paul asked tired of waiting for her to open up to him. He thought things had been getting better between them lately but now she was acting different.

"What do you mean?"

"Something happened when you went to get your charger. As soon as you came back you have been acting different and you said you would think about coming to my room tonight. Now you're acting like you don't want to be anywhere near me" Paul replied shrugging his shoulders as she looked up at him.

"It's not that- "

"Then what is it?"

"People are going to start talking the more they see us together and it's going to get back to dad very fast. I just think we need to be careful and start figuring out when and how to tell my dad about you being Aiden's father."

"Did someone say something to you?"

"No not to me- can we talk about this later? I need to hurry up and get to dad's office before he makes his way here instead."

"Fine. I guess you can call me when you get to the hotel" Paul replied walking passed her to the couch knowing he definitely wasn't going to be seeing her tonight.

"I'll call you as soon as I get to my room" Stephanie said walking towards the door and opening it.

"Okay" Paul replied grabbing his stuff and stuffing it into his bag. He knew she was right about people talking about them if they saw them head into the same hotel room together and it wouldn't take long for that to get to Vince. But he couldn't help but feel frustrated at the situation and disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing her tonight. He was nervous about telling Vince the truth and possibly losing his job but he was also ready for the truth to come out so they wouldn't have to hide anything from anyone. They would be able to do things together and not have to worry about what was said or who seen it.

Just as he finishing putting his things into his bag he heard the door open and close and he looked up wondering why she was back so quickly. Instead he found himself looking at Linda who had stopped when she seen him.

"Paul" Linda said with a small nod of her head. "I'm looking for Stephanie, Vince is wanting to talk to her."

"She already left to go talk to him."

"How long ago was that?"

"Maybe a minute or two ago."

"Good because I have a few things I want to say to you. It would be best if Stephanie wasn't around for what I have to say because she would probably get mad at me. But I really think this is for her best interest" Linda replied and Paul knew he wasn't going to like what she had to say but he stood there and waited for her to go on. "I don't why you left my daughter all of those years ago alone and pregnant or why you suddenly want to be back in her life. But things are different this time, there is a little sweet boy to think about now."

"I know this."

"Do you know that once my husband finds all out of this out you will lose your job? Which is the thing you do love most isn't it? I think that's why all of those years ago you did leave her because you knew if you didn't you wouldn't have a job in this company anymore" Linda replied and Paul glanced away from her for a moment. "But your job can be saved and Stephanie won't have to tell Vince anything. I can make sure Vince never finds out and this all can just be kept between the people who know."

"What are you trying to suggest?" Paul asked crossing his arms and glaring at Linda. He was trying to keep as calm as he could but he could already feel his blood starting to boil.

"That maybe you should walk away now before they get too attached and you end up hurting them worse later on when you do eventually walk away" Linda replied giving him an icy glare.

"I'm not walking away- "

"That's what you say now Paul but you've done it before and I had to watch Stephanie be so depressed afterwards. When she would come home occasionally to visit while she was in college she seemed like a complete different girl than she was before she left. I would hear her crying late at night and during the day all she would do was lie around watching television. Most days it was like she was just going through the motions of life without really feeling anything until the day Aiden was born. That was the first day in long time that her face light up with joy and the first time she was genuinely smiling. Since then she has put Aiden first, hardly dating anyone and only let Aiden around the few that she did get serious with. Now suddenly she's letting you back in her and Aiden's life like that never happened and that might be okay with her but it's not with me. I won't watch her go through that again and I won't let you do that to my Grandson."

"I would have never walked away from Aiden if I would have known about him. I was stupid and I made a mistake when I left Stephanie but that's never happening again. I will never leave my son even if Stephanie and I for some reason don't work out. I love your daughter and I love my son, I'm not going anywhere no matter how many times you or anyone else tries to tell me to. I don't care if you believe me because the only people I care about actually has some faith in me and they are the only ones that matter" Paul replied just as he heard the door to locker room close putting an end to his and Linda's conversation for now at least. He turned his back to Linda grabbing his bag, all he wanted right now since Stephanie was back was just to grab his stuff and convince to her to leave with him and them head to the hotel.

"You're in love with my daughter?" Paul heard Vince ask and he froze wondering how much Vince had heard of the conversation considering he never heard the locker room door open. "Are you saying that Aiden is your son?"


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you for the reviews :) I'm sorry this chapter is going to be short too but I hope you guys enjoy!

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Stephanie had been nervous walking to Vince's office so when she had reached his office and knocked on the door she couldn't help but feel relieved when he didn't answer. But the feeling was short lived when she got back to her dressing room and could hear raised voices coming from inside. Without thinking she opened the door and stepped inside to see Paul and Linda standing next to each other facing Vince who was close to the door where she was. The room suddenly felt small and suffocating and she felt like getting out of there as fast as she possibly could. She could already tell that this situation she walked into was bad.

"Did you just think it would never come out?" Vince shouted making Stephanie flinch. She watched as Vince turned his attention from Paul to Linda. "How long did you know about this?"

"I haven't known very long at all" Linda replied shaking her head.

"But you have known and you just kept it from me?"

"I asked her not to say anything because I wanted to tell you myself" Stephanie interrupted as Vince turned his attention onto her after realizing she was in the room. "I wanted you to hear it from me but I guess that didn't go as planned."

"So have you two been sneaking behind my back all these years?"

"No. It only happened the summer before I went to college and then we started seeing each other again recently. We were going to tell you" Stephanie replied watching as Vince got even angrier if that was even possible.

"When? Where you just going to wait until he knocked you up again and then lie to me about who the father is _again_?"

"She only lied to you because I had left and she was scared. I'm the one you should be angry with" Paul said before she even had a chance to respond.

"You're really not making yourself look any better" Vince replied looking over at Paul who just shrugged.

"I'm not trying to make myself look good. I'm trying to tell the truth and explain everything" Paul replied as Stephanie ran her fingers through her hair. This was not how she wanted everything to go. She had wanted to be better prepared to explain everything but it was all a mess now.

"I think I've put it together. You and my daughter snuck behind my back and she got pregnant and you got scared and ran off leaving them behind."

"I didn't know about Aiden until we started this storyline together- "

"You should have never got involved with my daughter to begin with."-

"I don't regret it. I regret some of the things after- "

"Like leaving her? If you really do love my daughter like you say, then you would have never left her" Vince argued as Stephanie looked over at Paul feeling surprised by the revelation. "it doesn't matter now though. I don't want you with my daughter."

"That's her decision and as long as she wants to be with me then I'm going to be with her" Paul replied as Vince scoffed and clenched his hand into a fist at his side. Stephanie knew things were just going to get worse if they just kept arguing but she wasn't sure how to calm the situation at this point.

"You know what I'm just going to do what I should have if I would have found out about this when it first began."

"Dad no" Stephanie said shaking her head knowing where this was going. "Please don't-"

"I'll deal with you later" Vince replied putting his hand up interrupting her but Stephanie ignored it.

"Our storyline is a big part of the show and if you fire him then what are you going to do?"

"I'll figure it out but right now I want you out of here and I don't want to see hear you or see you ever again" Vince replied pointing over at Paul. "Get your shit and get out of here before I call security and have you escorted out."

"This is ridiculous dad" Stephanie replied walking over to the couch and grabbing her purse as Paul grabbed his bag.

"What are you doing?" Vince asked as Stephanie started to walk with Paul to the dressing room door.

"I'm leaving with him. Just because you fired him doesn't stop me from being with him."

"If you want to keep your job in this company Stephanie then I suggest you just let him go his own way. You have Aiden, my Grandson to think about here." Vince replied making Stephanie stop in front of him.

"I am thinking about Aiden. He loves Paul and you're trying to get me to remove him from our lives. Are you even thinking about Aiden right now and how much that would hurt him?"

"Yes I am and he would be better off without him in his life."

"No he wouldn't. He needs his father and I'm going to be with Paul whether you like it or not" Stephanie replied and started walking towards the dressing room door again.

"So after everything your mother and I have done for you you're going to choose him over us?" Vince asked making her turns back towards him. "We were there when he just walked away."

"You're the one making me choose right now and he might have walked away then but he's made it clear about his regrets. He's not going anywhere" Stephanie replied knowing now that Paul had been telling the truth when he promised he wasn't going anywhere. There was no way she was going to turn her back on him after that and especially since he just lost his job over her. She wasn't going to make Aiden lose his father either, she knew she was making the right decision. Even if it was hard.

"If you leave here with him Stephanie don't come crying and crawling back to us when he up and leaves again" Vince called as her and Paul left the dressing room. There were a couple of wrestlers that hadn't left yet and had apparently been near her dressing room listening. Some scattered while the rest turned away from them and starting conversations with each other. Stephanie took a hold of Paul's hand and they started walking down the hallway and for once in her life she couldn't wait to be far away from this place.

* * *

The next day Paul pulled into Shane's driveway feeling unsure if he should be there with Stephanie considering how last night wither her parents went. He already knew Shane was mad at him after finding out he was Aiden's father so he wasn't sure how he would react to him getting Stephanie fired with him. Though he knew that it had been her decision to leave with him or keep her place in the company, he couldn't help but feel responsible. Stephanie seemed to be okay with her decision today and hadn't really spoke about last night. She had cried for a while last night about it which left him feeling hopeless to help her feel better and made him feel bad because he couldn't help. He thought with losing his job he would feel a lot worse than he was, maybe he was still processing it all. He knew he made the right decision though and if he had to do it all over again he would still pick Stephanie and Aiden. The only thing to worry about now was exactly what he was going to do for a job. He wouldn't be able to wrestle at Vince's company anymore but that didn't mean he couldn't wrestle anymore.

"Are you sure I should go in with you? Maybe I should wait out here" Paul said as Stephanie opened her door and started to get out.

"Yes I want you to come in with me. Are you afraid of my brother?" Stephanie teased with a chuckle.

"No I just don't want to make things worse with your family than they already are."

"I don't things can get worse. Shane's probably the only one left in my family left that I'm going to be on speaking terms with and besides Aiden will be happy to see you."

"Okay" Paul replied getting out of the car and walking up to house beside of Stephanie. Before they reached the door, it was being opened and Shane appeared in the doorway.

"Mom called last night" Shane said looking at Stephanie as they approached him.

"I'm guessing she told you what happened last night then" Stephanie replied as he nodded his head.

"Are you sure that you- "

"Yes Shane I'm sure I made the right decision" Stephanie cut him off as Shane looked over at Paul before looking back over at her. It looked like Shane still wasn't too happy with him but at least he wasn't acting like Linda had been to him last night with telling him to leave Stephanie and Aiden.

"Just wanted to make sure you have really thought this through. What are you going to do for a job?" Shane asked moving away from the door so they could go inside.

"Get a new one" Stephanie shrugged as they walked inside. "I'm just not sure what else to do yet or when I'll get another one but I have enough money to support Aiden and me until then."

"What about you? Have you given any thought to what else you're going to do?" Shane asked looking at Paul as he shut the front door.

"I've gave it some thought but I'm not completely sure yet" Paul replied surprised that Shane was even speaking to him.

"Well at least you're thinking about it" Shane replied before looking back to Stephanie. "Mom's worried about you."

"It didn't really seem that way last night" Stephanie rolled her eyes. Stephanie had been pretty upset when Paul told her about how Linda told him to walk away from Stephanie and Aiden which caused Vince to find everything out. He couldn't blame her for being upset with Linda because he was too.

"She does. She's really worried about Aiden too and how all of this will affect him."

"If that were true Shane then she wouldn't have come to my dressing room and told Paul to walk away from Aiden and me."

"What?" Shane asked with a shocked look on his face.

"Oh I guess she left that out. Probably didn't want to make herself look bad."

"Are you- "

"I don't want to talk about it anymore Shane. What is done is done. I just want to try and relax from the stress while I can and figure out where to go from here."

"Okay but I think this might just blow over like it always does and things will be fine with mom and dad- "

"No I don't think that is going to happen this time. You didn't see or hear dad last night" Stephanie replied shaking her head before walking off leaving Shane and him in an awkward silence. He could tell Shane was as uncomfortable as he was and wasn't sure what to say to him either. After a couple of more seconds of silence Paul started to walk after Stephanie until Shane cleared his throat.

"She's putting on a brave face but this is hurting her more than she is letting on. She's really going to need you and I just want to make sure you're going to be there for her, and for Aiden. I don't want to see her hurt any more than she is and I don't want to see Aiden hurt at all."

"Everyone keeps asking me that I just wished that people could see that I'm clearly not going anywhere. That I will never hurt Stephanie again and I'll never just walk away from son. The only way I'm leaving is if Stephanie doesn't want me anymore but even then, I'll still see and spend time with my son."

"I can't help but be skeptical" Shane replied with a shrug. "I just need to know they will be taken care of."

"They will be" Paul replied and walked off to find Stephanie. At least Shane wasn't acting like Vince or Linda had but he didn't really see Shane just letting go of his issues and them suddenly being friends. At least they could be friendly towards one another though and he accepted that Paul was a part of Stephanie and Aiden's lives.

* * *

When they finally arrived home from Shane's Stephanie was feeling a little better knowing that at least someone in her family was on her side. Shane had been nice to Paul and actually included him on conversations they were having. She wished her parents could have been the same way but after last night she wasn't sure that would ever happen. Hell, she knew that would never happen, after all her dad had fired both of them. The stress of finding a new job was already looming over her.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked putting his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged them.

"If you keep doing that it will help things be a lot better" Stephanie replied closing her eyes and relaxed into him. "To answer your question though I'm as good as I can be. How about you?"

"I'm doing fine. It's not me I'm worried about anyway."

"Don't worry about me" Stephanie replied turning around to face him and his hands fell. "You just lost your job too. You worked hard to get to where you were and I just ruined it all for you."

"You didn't ruin anything for me. I knew what could happen and I don't regret it. I just wished it wouldn't have caused problems for you with your family."

"It didn't have to. They just chose for it to be the way it is and I can't believe my mother would actually come to you and try to convince you to walk away from us. If she really cared about Aiden or me she would have never done that" Stephanie replied shaking her head. She was still appalled and pissed that her mother would do something like that especially to Aiden. It would have hurt him so much and for Linda even to suggest Paul do that made her sick to her stomach.

"I know. Even I wasn't expecting that to happen but I told her I wasn't going anywhere that I love my son and I love…and that I love you" Paul replied causing her to be surprised. She had heard her dad last night say something about Paul saying he loved her but she wasn't expecting him to come out and say it, right now anyway. She had waited to hear those words a very long time ago when they had dated before. It was taking her a moment to let in sink in as Paul stared at her nervously. "You don't have to- "

"I love you too" Stephanie replied finally finding her voice.

"I know it's not the most romantic way to tell you and I wanted to wait- " but before he could even finish his sentence she kissed him. He wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. In that moment, she really could care less about what her family thought, especially her mother. As long as she had Paul by her side then she knew everything would be okay.


	21. Chapter 21

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I couldn't seem to figure out what to write for this chapter but it finally came to me last night. Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)

* * *

Stephanie paced the floor and looked around the room making sure everything looked good. Even though it wasn't her apartment she felt freaked out and anxious. So, her first instinct was to start cleaning to try and take her mind off of everything going through her mind.

"Steph baby the living room looks spotless. I don't think it can get anymore clean" Paul said coming behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her close to him.

"I don't know. Maybe I could vacuum one more time just to be sure" Stephanie replied trying to wiggle free from his hold but he held her closer to him. He chuckled in her ear and kissed the side of her neck. It frustrated her that he was so calm about everything.

"My parents have seen my place look bad before. It's probably going to shock them to see it this clean so relax."

"I can't" Stephanie replied turning around in his hold so she could at least face him. "I don't know how you can be so calm. I'm freaking out here."

"Really? I couldn't tell" Paul smirked and she smacked him lightly on the chest.

"This is the first time I'm meeting them and the first time their meeting Aiden. I at least want to try and make a good impression. Even if it's only for a few minutes before it all goes to hell" Stephanie sighed and leaned her head against his chest.

Her, Paul and Aiden had been out running a couple of errands when Paul decided to stop at his apartment. He needed some extra clothes since he had mostly been spending his time and nights at her house lately. It was almost kind of pointless for him to have the apartment since he was practically living at her house. But then again it was way too soon to talk about actually moving in together. She knew he would need to stop staying so much at her house soon.

So, after they finished their errands they had ended up at his apartment and just as Paul had packed a bag his cellphone had started ringing. It had been his parents saying they were in the area and wanted to see him. Now here they were waiting for his parents to show up. Which gave Stephanie no choice but to meet them and introduce them to their grandson and she just hoped they didn't end up hating her.

"It's going to be fine. Trust me, this is going to go a lot better than it did with your parents" Paul tried reassuring her as he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "And even if it doesn't then we'll still have our little family. Nobody can take that away from us."

"I love you" Stephanie smiled placing her hands on the side of his face and brought him closer to her kissing him softly on the lips.

"I love you too" Paul replied kissing her one last time as they heard a knock on the front door.

Stephanie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly bracing herself for what was to come. She heard their voices before she saw them. When they had walked into the living room she smiled as best as she could since she was so nervous. Once they saw her they stopped in their tracks in surprise.

"Mom, dad, this is Stephanie" Paul said after clearing his throat and gestured towards her. "Stephanie, these are my parents Patricia and Paul."

"Stephanie it's so nice to meet you" Patricia came towards her with a smile and Stephanie reached out her hand to shake Patricia's.

"It's nice to meet you too" Stephanie smiled back as some of her nerves started to dissipate.

"Nice to meet you" Paul said coming up behind his wife and extending his hand towards her.

"You too" Stephanie replied shaking his hand.

"So how are you guys?" Paul asked his parents taking the attention off of her which she was grateful for.

"We're fine. We haven't heard from you lately and we haven't seen you on Raw or Smackdown. So, we thought we would come for a visit" Patricia replied turning towards Paul.

"Yeah, I guess I have some explaining to do" Paul replied running his hand through his hair. "It's kind of a long story so you should probably sit down and get comfortable."

Stephanie walked over to one of the empty chairs and sat down as Paul's parents made themselves comfortable on the couch. Her nerves that had started to dissipate came back full force as Paul got ready to explain everything to his parents. But just as Paul started to talk she suddenly heard the door to the bathroom bang against the wall and then Aiden appeared in the living room.

"Daddy! I turned on the water in the bathroom to wash my hands and now it won't go off" Aiden said going over to Paul.

"What do you mean it won't go off?" Paul asked and Aiden shrugged.

"It just won't."

"Hold on- "

"I'll go turn it off" Stephanie interrupted Paul and stood up. She knew Paul was going to go and do it but she didn't want to be left alone with his parents.

"Okay" Paul replied watching her for a moment as she left before turning his attention back to his parents.

"You need to start explaining **now** " Patricia said giving him a stern look before looking at Aiden who was still beside of him.

"This is Aiden. He's my son, your grandson" Paul replied and everything went quiet. He gave them time to digest the information as Aiden climbed up in his lap. "Now before you go thinking that I had a son and kept it from you for years, that's not the case. When I tell you everything all I ask is to please try not to judge or to get too upset."

"I can't promise anything but I'll try not to" Patricia replied and Paul took a breath and started to explain everything from the beginning.

When he was done, he looked over at Aiden who had got bored and sat down in the floor in front of the television watching cartoons. Then he looked over at his parents who were still sitting in silence. He told them every important detail and he just hoped they took it better than Vince and Linda had.

"It's my fault and I understand if you want to blame me or hate me" Stephanie said finally coming back into the living room. She walked over to Paul's chair and sat on the arm of the chair and he put his hand on her knee.

"I'm not going to lie. I am upset. But I'm not going to hate you Stephanie or blame you. You both are to blame for the situation so it wouldn't be fair just to blame you" Patricia replied looking at her. "As much as I am upset that I've missed out on watching my grandson grow up there is no need for ugly harsh words we can't take back. It won't change anything, we can't go back in time. Besides Paul already told me how your parents reacted and it sounds like you two are already having a hard-enough time as it is. The only thing important here is Aiden and getting to know him. I would very much like to get to know my grandson."

"Thanks mom" Paul smiled feeling relieved that his parents were being calm and rational at the news. "What about you dad?"

"It's a lot to take in but I agree with your mother. There is no point in getting so upset we say things we can't take back. It's better to try and move forward now that we know and get to know our grandson."

"Since everything that happened with Vince and Linda have you two found another job?"

"I'm in talks with WCW and I'm trying to go back there. Steph has had a couple of interviews but she hasn't heard back from them yet" Paul replied rubbing Stephanie's knee. She had been worrying lately about finding a new job and even though he said he would make sure to take care of her and Aiden, she was still upset about not finding a job.

"If you two need help in anyway, your father and I will help" Patricia replied and Paul smiled but shook his head.

"Thanks for the offer but we're okay. We're using some our savings right now but as soon as I'm back to work we'll be back on track."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure mom. If we need anything I'll let you know" Paul replied as Patricia nodded her head and looked over at Aiden. "Aiden come over here."

Paul motioned for him to come over next to him. He was sure that once Aiden had got bored and started to watch television that he actually had no clue what was going on.

"These are my parents. Which makes them your grandma and grandpa" Paul explained once Aiden had stopped watching television and came over to them. "Why don't you sit down with them and tell them about your favorite things."

"My favorite movie is The Lion King" Aiden started as he went to sit down on the couch. Paul couldn't help but chuckle as Aiden started listing off all of his favorite things. He knew his son was loving all the attention on him though.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go look at the sink in the bathroom" Paul told his parents and they nodded their head without taking their attention from Aiden.

Paul got up from his chair and slipped his hand into Stephanie's for her to follow him. Stephanie hesitated for a second looking over to Aiden to make sure he was comfortable and then she got up from her spot and followed along beside of Paul.

"How are you feeling now that everything is out in the open?" Paul asked once they were in the bathroom and he shut the door behind them.

"A lot better. I was terrified that things were going to be as bad as it was with my parents or maybe even worse."

"I told you things would be okay. Although I was a little nervous it might be bad too but everything worked out" Paul replied tipping her chin up to him and leaned down and kissed her. "Do you think it's confusing to Aiden that he has another grandma and grandpa since he's only known his grandparents to be Vince and Linda?"

"He might be at first but right now I don't think he's even caring enough to ask since your parents are giving him so much attention" Stephanie gave a little laugh. "Do you really think everything is okay with you and your parents?"

"Yeah. Mom might have a few things to get off her chest towards me but she'll probably do that in private. Mainly it will be things like I thought I raised you better than that, etc. She won't have anything to say about you if that's what you're worried about. She would have said something more to you if she did" Paul replied and she nodded her head hoping he wasn't just saying that so she wouldn't worry more about it. "So, why wouldn't the water turn off earlier?"

"When you try to turn the hot water knob off it kept turning so the water kept coming out. But if you turn it here" Stephanie demonstrated for him "Then it finally shuts off and it confused Aiden."

"I guess I'll have to fix that later" Paul replied making sure the water was off all the way and stepped back from the sink.

"Do you think your parents like me? Do you think they are supportive of us being together?" Stephanie asked moving in front of him and leaning back against the sink.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?"

"Because I've done nothing but cause you problems and got you fired from the job you loved the most" Stephanie replied shaking her head.

"Steph, you haven't caused me any problems. You and Aiden are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't ever think differently" Paul replied stepping closer to her and putting his hands around her and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him closer to her and he pressed her more into the edge of the sink. Which was not very comfortable but at the moment she didn't care as he deepened the kiss and moaned as his hands found their way under her shirt to cup her breasts through her bra. She ran her fingers through his hair and took his bottom lip between her teeth and nipped it as she rubbed herself against the bulge in his jeans. He let out a small growl before ending the kiss and practically jerked her shirt off her. But she didn't have any complaints as he lifted her to sit on the edge of the sink and put his hand in her hair, gripping it and pulling it so her throat was further exposed. He trailed kisses down her throat as he reached his free hand behind her and undone her bra as she let her hands travel down his chest slowly. Taking her time to feel his muscles through the fabric of his shirt as he slid the straps of her bra down her arms until it reached the end and he stepped back and she let her bra fall to the floor. He stood for a moment taking in her half naked appearance before pulling off his shirt and throwing it to the floor. He wasted no time in stepping back towards her resuming where he left off.

Stephanie moaned when he took her nipple into his mouth getting lost in the pleasure and almost forgot where they even were or that Aiden and Paul parents were just in in the living room. It was there at the back of her mind but she couldn't seem to find her voice to remind Paul. Every inch of her skin was on fire and she could feel her need for him growing stronger with each touch and kiss but she knew they couldn't go any farther.

"Paul" Stephanie tried to say but came out more of a moan which he took a sign to go further. All train of thought got lost as she felt his hand slip into her panties and his fingers rubbed against her clit. She had been completely lost in the moment she hadn't even realized when he had undone her jeans. And even though she had been about to stop him, she couldn't seem to remember why as her hands found his belt buckle and tried to hurry to get it undone. "Stupid belt."

"Fuck" Paul groaned when she wrapped her hand around him after finally getting his belt and jeans undone and slid her hand inside of his boxers. His mouth found hers kissing her hard as she felt him push a finger inside of her causing her to moan into his mouth. But then they suddenly heard a knock on the door and froze.

"Sorry to interrupt" Stephanie heard Paul's dad say through the door. He sounded uncomfortable as she heard him clear his throat. "But I was wondering if you were done looking at the sink because I need to use the bathroom."

"Yeah be out in just a second" Paul replied and he leaned down and kissed her shoulder and starting to laugh quietly.

"It's not funny" Stephanie replied smacking him on the arm. She knew it hadn't been a good idea to let things get as far as they did. Damn him and his talented hands and mouth, now she felt so embarrassed because she was sure his parents knew they weren't just in the bathroom looking at the sink.

"I'm sorry. How about we finish this later tonight?" Paul asked as Stephanie hopped down off the edge of the sink and buttoned her pants.

"That can be arranged. As long as I don't die from embarrassment before then" Stephanie replied as Paul started to laugh again. She narrowed her eyes at him before bending down to pick her bra and shirt up from the floor. "Keep laughing and I'll have to reconsider."

"But that would be just be punishing yourself too" Paul smirked fixing his belt and picking his shirt off the floor and pulling it back on.

"I can always take care of it myself" Stephanie smirked back as Paul stepped towards and wrapped his arms around her.

"Okay no more laughing" Paul replied and pretended to zip his lips.

"Good. Now get away from me before we end up exactly where we were before" Stephanie joked pushing him away from her.

* * *

Thankfully she didn't die of embarrassment but she was pretty embarrassed the whole time his parents stayed at the apartment. When they had finally decided to leave, they made plans for his parents to see Aiden again as they walked with his parents to the parking lot. After they made their plans, they all hugged and said goodbye with promises to see each other soon.

Now they were pulling into the driveway of her house as Aiden started to talk about wanting to stay outside to play in the snow.

"Can I mommy? Please" Aiden begged as Stephanie opened his door and let him out.

"I don't know. It's cold and I don't want you to end up getting sick."

"Please? I just want to build a snowman and then I'll come in" Aiden begged "Please."

"I'll stay out here and help him if you want" Paul replied coming over towards them. "If you want you could go in and make some hot chocolate and get a movie ready. Then we could drink hot chocolate and cuddle up and watch a movie together after we are done out here."

"Okay" Stephanie sighed and gave in. Drinking hot chocolate and cuddling up with her boys and watching a movie sounded like a perfect ending to the day. "You are to come in and soon as the snowman is built. Got it?"

"Yes!" Aiden replied excitedly before taking off into the snow-covered yard.

"I'm going in before one of you decide to throw a snowball at me and I end up colder than I already am" Stephanie said to Paul before giving him a kiss. Paul smirked at her and started bending down to the snow and Stephanie took off to the house before he could deliver through with his plan. She unlocked the door quickly and stepped in and closed it quickly and then she heard something smack the door. She knew it was the snowball and knew she had been lucky in getting inside quickly.

Pulling her jacket off she headed into the living room to find a movie they all would enjoy and after she found one she headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. It would be a little bit before she could start on the hot chocolate so she settled on coffee for now, she needed the warmth and the caffeine. Once she started the coffee maker she went and looked outside the window to watch Paul and Aiden. Paul was like a big kid outside in the snow and she laughed as Paul hit Aiden with a snowball. Aiden brushed the snow off of him and began to form his own snowball to hit Paul back but Stephanie's attention was drawn away from them as Shane's car pulled into her driveway. She watched as Shane stepped out of his car and shut the door and instantly her stomach filled with dread. Something was wrong, she could tell just from the look on her brother's face.

Stephanie hurried to the door and threw the door open and stepped outside on the porch to meet him. His eyes were red and he looked like he was lost.

"I tried calling you but I couldn't get a hold of you."

"We went out today and I left my phone charging. We just got back and I haven't checked it yet. What's wrong Shane?" Stephanie asked as his eyes began to tear up.

"It's dad Steph. He's in the hospital" Shane replied getting choked on a sob.

"What happened?"

"He had a heart attack" Shane replied wiping his eyes. "It's not looking good for him."


End file.
